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Brand Management“Without question, branding is a complex management area that deserves study from avariety of different perspectives and academic traditions. By providing a multi-disciplinaryapproach, this textbook provides a welcome and invaluable resource for thoughtful students,scholars, and practitioners who want to fully understand branding and brand management.”Kevin Lane Keller, Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth“At last a book that cuts through the clutter about understanding brand and so clearly clar-ifies the brand concept. A book that superbly bridges the academic domain and enablespractitioners use it to build brand equity.”Leslie de Chernatony, Birmingham University Business School“We think this is an excellent treatment of our topic. Thorough and complete, yet conciseand very readable. We love the design and structure, both with regards to the sevenapproaches, as well as to the four layers within each approach.”Albert M. Muniz, Jr., DePaul University and Thomas C. O’Guinn, University of WisconsinFor over two decades it has been argued that the brand is an important value creator andshould therefore be a top management priority. However, the definition of what a brand isremains elusive.This comprehensive book presents the reader with an exhaustive analysis of the scien-tific and paradigmatic approaches to the nature of brand as it has developed over the lasttwenty years. Taking a multidisciplinary approach and offering an exhaustive analysis ofbrand research literature, it delivers a thorough understanding of the managerial implica-tions of these different approaches to the management of the brand.Brand Management: Research, theory and practice fills a gap in the market, providingan understanding of how the nature of brand and the idea of the consumer differ in theseapproaches, and offers in-depth insight into the opening question of almost every brandmanagement course: ‘What is a brand?’Tilde Heding and Charlotte F. Knudtzen both lecture in strategic brand management atCopenhagen Business School. Tilde and Charlotte have published widely, while alsorunning their own brand management consultancy, Heding & Knudtzen. Mogens Bjerre isassociate professor of Marketing at Copenhagen Business School. He has published exten-sively in the fields of franchising, key accounts management, strategic relationshipmarketing and retailing.

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List of illustrations1.1 The logic of the approach chapters 51.2 A readers’ guide 64.1 The brand–consumer exchange of the economic approach 314.2 Assumptions of the economic approach 344.3 Supporting themes of the economic approach 354.4 Core theme and supporting themes of the economic approach 394.5 Theoretical building blocks of the economic approach 404.6 Relation between price and demand 424.7 Methods and data of the economic approach 435.1 Sources of brand identity 505.2 Assumptions of the identity approach 555.3 Supporting themes of the identity approach 565.4 Brand identity: the core theme and alignment frameworksof the identity approach 605.5 Alignment of the strategic stars of brand identity 625.6 Theory of the identity approach 645.7 Manifestations of organizational identity (culture) 675.8 Methods and data of the identity approach 705.9 Drivers of the alignment process of brand identity 715.10 Managerial implications of the identity approach 776.1 The brand resides in the mind of the consumer 856.2 The computer is the central metaphor of man in cognitivepsychology 866.3 Assumptions of the consumer-based approach 876.4 Supporting themes and the core themes of the consumer-basedapproach 886.5 Simple associative network spreading from the nodeVolkswagen 896.6 The three forms of cognition applied to brands 906.7 Dimensions of brand knowledge 936.8 Associations spreading from the node ‘Seven up’ 966.9 ‘Seven up’ brand associations adapted to the customer-basedbrand equity framework 97

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6.10 Theory of the consumer-based approach 986.11 Methods and data of the consumer-based approach 1036.12 Dualistic mechanisms of the consumer-based approachinfluencing the managerial implications 1046.13 Managerial implications of the consumer-based approach 1097.1 Brand personality construct 1197.2 Assumptions of the personality approach 1217.3 Supporting themes of the personality approach 1227.4 Brand behaviour 1237.5 Consumer self construct 1257.6 The brand–self exchange of symbolic brand value in themarket place 1287.7 Core theme of the personality approach: brand personality 1297.8 Dimensions of brand personality 1307.9 Theory of the personality approach 1337.10 Methods and data of the personality approach 1387.11 Brand personality dimensions, traits and brand behaviour 1427.12 Brand–self congruence of Chanel No. 5 1447.13 Managerial implications of the personality approach 1478.1 ‘Dyadic’ brand–consumer relationship 1548.2 Assumptions of the relational approach 1568.3 Supporting themes and core theme of the relational approach 1578.4 Preliminary model of brand relationship quality and its effectson relationship stability 1638.5 Theoretical building blocks of the relational approach 1658.6 Methods and data of the relational approach 1708.7 Managerial implications of the relational approach 1769.1 The ‘brand triad’ 1839.2 Assumptions of the community approach 1859.3 Supporting themes of brand community 1869.4 Conceptualization of the community in the sociologicaltradition 1879.5 Brand community construct 1889.6 Theoretical building blocks of the community approach 1919.7 Methods and data of the community approach 1969.8 The marketer as observer of a brand community 1989.9 The marketer as facilitator of a brand community 2019.10 Managerial implications of the community approach 20310.1 Scope of the cultural approach 21010.2 Assumptions of the cultural approach 21310.3 The core theme, its supporting theme, the societal commenton brand icons and the future brand scenario 21410.4 The movement of meaning 21510.5 Iconic brands are brands that have become cultural icons 21710.6 Theoretical building blocks of the cultural approach 224viii List of illustrations

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10.7 Research methods of the cultural approach 22710.8 Methods and data of the cultural approach 22810.9 The cultural brand management process 22910.10 Managerial implications of the cultural approach 23511.1 Taxonomy of brand management 1985–2006 24611.2 Two dimensions and four brand management paradigms 25211.3 The logic of the approach chapters 257List of illustrations ix

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8.2 Background of the brand relationship theory 1598.3 The complexity of a relationship 1648.4 Depth is preferred to breadth 1678.5 Stories can be helped along 1678.6 Conduct a long interview yourself 1699.1 Who owns the Apple brand now? 1849.2 Getting too close? 1939.3 Solving the insider/outsider dilemma 1939.4 Quantitative triangulation of qualitative data 1949.5 How to do an ethnographic study of a brand communityyourself 1959.6 Insights from the Volkswagen ‘Beetle’ community 1989.7 Do’s and don’ts in the community approach 2009.8 Libresse: the community principles applied to fast-movingconsumer goods 20210.1 Macro-level culture defined 20910.2 How Snapple became an iconic brand 21810.3 Civic responsibilities or cultural branding? 22110.4 Doing semiotics 22510.5 Doing a cultural study yourself 22710.6 The versatile brand manager of the cultural approach 23010.7 Just another legal case or an early warning sign? 23210.8 A citizen-artist brand? 23210.9 Do’s and don’ts in the cultural approach 234xii List of boxes

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ForewordLeslie de ChernatonyGiven the research I have undertaken over the years helping managers understandthe nature of their brand and the opportunities for strategically growing brands, Iam delighted to write the foreword for this insightful and most timely book. Theauthors have done an extremely thorough job, diligently working through thebrand research literature to devise seven perspectives from diverse schools ofthought about perceptions of brands. From this typology, among other things, theyconsider how the all-important brand equity is created and managed. The authorsare to be congratulated on grounding this text so expertly in the literature yet stillenabling management implications to be wisely crystallized.Seeking to elucidate the nature of a brand is a daunting task, since brands arelike amoeba, constantly changing. At the most basic, brands start life in brandplanning documents, evolving as pan-company teams revise their ideas.Ultimately, after being finessed by stakeholders in the value chain, brands residein the minds and hearts of consumers – hopefully in a form not too dissimilar fromthat desired by the firm. The research neatly synthesized in this text coherentlybrings more understanding to the challenge of understanding a corporation’sbrand and managing its growth trajectory. It is clear from the authors’ work whydiverse interpretations exist about the nature of brands.From this well argued text it can be appreciated that one of the challengesmanagers face is finding a suitable metaphor to ensure common understanding ofthe firm’s brand. Without this, supporting brand resources may not be coherentlyintegrated. Furthermore, under the service dominant logic paradigm, it is morewidely recognized that brands are co-created through stakeholder interactions.Managers not only have to understand each other’s understanding and inputs tobrand building, but also to recognize the way brand communities want to shape thebrand.Again, the authors helpfully elucidate the importance of brand communities.There is much in this book that makes it an inspirational read.Leslie de ChernatonyProfessor of Brand MarketingBirmingham University Business School

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PrefaceThere are numerous strengths of this book. Firstly the authors have been verybrave to take a recent time period, to divide it up into phases and to thenidentify management types that have been employed to build brand. There arethose who will question this particularly typology, however unless someonemakes a start at putting forward such a typology, we will not see advancementin terms of the topic of brand management.We received this comment from one of the ‘blind’ reviewers contributing to thelengthy process of turning a lot of our thoughts, knowledge, and words into a real,tangible book. The overall approach of this book is quite different compared tohow other brand management books communicate the scope of brandmanagement and we sure hope that the typology will be a subject of discussion.We, however, also hope that it is a step in the right direction when it comes tocreating a solid and serious foundation for the evolution of brand management,both academically and in practice. Our motivation for writing this book has fromday one been to provide clarity and equip students and practitioners with insightsand tools to deal with brand management in a valid and insightful way.The book offers its readers a new chest of drawers. The seven drawers are filledwith the assumptions, theories, and concepts that are presented higgledy-piggledyin many other brand management books. Some will probably disagree with thecontent of the individual drawers, while many hopefully will enthuse in thestructure and clarity they provide. The three authors have tested the material atlectures at Copenhagen Business School and concluded that by far the majority ofstudents belong to the latter category. The seven approaches seem to provide clarityand answer many of the questions left unanswered in other brand managementbooks; meanwhile they also spur great discussions of what a brand is and how it canbe managed. The communication of brand management as seven ideal types ofdifferent brand approaches – with the necessary chopping of toes and squeezing ofheels – hopefully will also lead to independent and critical thinking!Keeping our ears to the ground, we sense that typology and scientific clarityare sought more and more in brand management and it seems to us that brandmanagement is about to enter a new era where a deeper understanding of themany aspects of the brand is needed. Since the mid-1980s it has been argued over

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and over again that corporations should make brand management a top priority inorder to sharpen their competitive edge. That message has sunk in and things arenow cooking when it comes to understanding the nature of the brand better andturning brand management into a management discipline as scientifically valid ascomparable disciplines.We hope that the book will be of value to students, academics, and practi-tioners alike. Not too long ago, Charlotte and Tilde were still students faced withthe insufficiencies of existing brand management books on a daily basis. Today,both Charlotte and Tilde as well as Mogens advise companies on brand mattersand teach brand management at Copenhagen Business School. We believe thatthe book has both valuable pedagogical potential and can be of great help to prac-titioners who demand validity and thorough analysis as a foundation for brandstrategy in practice.T.H.C.F.K.M.B.xvi Preface

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AcknowledgementsFirst, we would like to thank Francesca Heslop and Simon Alexander,Commissioning Editors for Business and Management, and Sharon Golan,Editorial Assistant for Business and Management, at Routledge for their faith inthe project and help along the way.We are truly honoured that some of the most inspirational people in brandmanagement research have agreed to contribute to the book with their valuablethoughts and insights. We gratefully acknowledge Professor Leslie de Chernatony(Birmingham University) for writing the foreword and Professor Majken Schultz(Copenhagen Business School), Professor Emerita Mary Jo Hatch (University ofVirginia), Adjunct Professor Joseph Plummer (Columbia Business School),Professor Kevin Lane Keller (Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College),Associate Professor Susan Fournier (Boston University), Associate ProfessorAlbert M. Muniz, Jr. (DePaul University), Professor Thomas C. O’Guinn(University of Wisconsin), and Professor Douglas B. Holt (Saïd Business School,Oxford) for writing comments for the approach chapters.We deeply thank the Columbus Foundation, Copenhagen, and the Thomas B.Thrige’s Foundation, Copenhagen, for financial support for this project.We are grateful for the permissions granted by the American MarketingAssociation, California Management Review, Copenhagen Business SchoolPress, Harvard Business School Publishing, Indiana University Press,University of Chicago Press, Westburn Publishers, and World AdvertisingResearch Centre.On a personal note, Tilde would like to thank Charlotte and Mogens for the longand inspiring collaboration on this project. Among so many things, I thank myparents Mette and Troels Heding for once a week taking me to the library bus as achild. My most heartfelt thanks go to my husband Flemming Pedersen for hisadmirable patience, love and support. For my part, I dedicate this book to thelights of my life – our daughters Iris and Marie.Personally, Charlotte wishes to thank Tilde for giving me inspiration toovercome this long and at times exhausting writing process. Your spirit,supportive and caring friendship has kept me going. I also thank Mogens for neverdoubting the project, and for his invaluable input and encouragement. I would alsolike to thank my parents Jytte and Børge Knudtzen for always supporting my not

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1 IntroductionBranding is the talk of the town. Corporations spend millions planning and imple-menting brand activities. New research is published and frameworks aredeveloped on a daily basis in the attempt to find the holy grail of brandmanagement. Since the mid-80s, in particular, researchers and practitioners alikehave explored the domain, scope and potential of the brand. Many differentconcepts, theoretical frameworks and ideas have seen the light of day and, as aresult, a wide spectrum of different perspectives on how a brand ought to beconceptualized and managed is in play today. Therefore, to obtain an overview ofthe field of brand management is an overwhelming task.This book provides a complete overview of brand management by taking youthrough seven brand approaches. These seven ‘schools of thought’ representfundamentally different perceptions of the brand, the nature of thebrand–consumer exchange, and how brand equity is created and managed.Understanding the seven brand approaches separately provides a deep insight intothe strengths and weaknesses of each approach and hence the potential of brandmanagement as a whole. This comprehensive understanding will enable the readerto create customized brand strategies matching the unique challenges and possibil-ities facing a brand at any time.The seven approaches are:• The economic approach: the brand as part of the traditional marketing mix.• The identity approach: the brand as linked to corporate identity.• The consumer-based approach: the brand as linked to consumer associations.• The personality approach: the brand as a human-like character.• The relational approach: the brand as a viable relationship partner.• The community approach: the brand as the pivotal point of social interaction.• The cultural approach: the brand as part of the broader cultural fabric.The identification of the seven approaches is based on an extensive analysis ofthe most influential brand research articles published between 1985 and 2006(300+ articles from Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research,Journal of Consumer Research, Harvard Business Review and European Journalof Marketing). This body of literature is supplemented with key non-research

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literature that has shaped the field of brand management since the mid-1980s.The analysis has been conducted using a methodology uncovering the devel-opment of scientific knowledge. The methodology is based on theory developedbyAmerican philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn (Bjerre, Heding and Knudtzen2008). Since (scientific) knowledge is in constant development, it is important tostress new brand approaches most likely will emerge in the future.Traditionally, brand management textbooks offer an introduction to mainconcepts and the wide array of theories, but often fail to discriminate betweenhow different approaches result in very different outcomes and why. Brandmanagement draws on many different scientific traditions such as economics,strategic management, organizational behaviour, consumer research,psychology and anthropology just to mention a few. A complete overview ofbrand management hence requires multidimensional thinking. Most textbookstake on this multidimensionality through integration of several perspectives inall-encompassing frameworks. If you look at the list of brand approaches, youwill most likely recognize many of the brand elements (e.g. personality, relation,and consumer) that are encompassed in the classical textbook models (e.g. seeAaker’s brand identity model, Kapferer’s brand prism, and Keller’s customer-based brand equity pyramid). The integrated frameworks are, however, notnecessarily ideal when it comes to understanding and getting an overview of thefield of brand management. Integration tends to blur the differences and similar-ities between different approaches in brand management and leave the readerrather confused. Still, the integrated frameworks have the advantage that astrategist can take into consideration all relevant aspects without losing oneselfin details.This book can be read in two ways: either as a stand-alone textbook or as asupplement to the textbooks by the above-mentioned authors. Read as asupplement, the book offers the inquiring reader the opportunity to understand thecomponents of the traditional models in depth. Read alone, the book offers theopportunity to evaluate the most important schools of thought in brandmanagement and create his or her brand management model featuring the compo-nents that are most relevant for the challenge at hand.Resting on a comprehensive analysis of brand management as a scientific disci-pline, Brand Management: Research, Theory and Practice offers the reader ascientifically grounded overview of the main schools/approaches in brandmanagement, – and of their managerial implications. Brand Management:Research, Theory and Practice presents each approach separately and as an ‘idealtype’ based on the conviction that understanding the exact content of eachapproach and its origin will better equip the reader to combine differentapproaches, being in an educational or a managerial setting.The four layers of an approachThe seven ‘schools of thought’ are ‘clusters’ of literature sharing distinct brandperceptions. In each cluster, there is coherence between assumptions, theories and4 Setting the scene

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methods/data. The three ‘scientific layers’ (assumptions, theories and methods/data)add up to managerial implications. The structure of the seven approach chapters isguided by this coherence between assumptions, theories, methods/data and mana-gerial implications.Assumptions are not to be understood in a high-flung sense of the word. Eachapproach holds its own implicit view of the nature of the brand and the premisesof the brand–consumer exchange. Clarifying these assumptions facilitates theunderstanding of the theories, methods and managerial implications of eachapproach. Assumptions also illuminate the intangibles inherent in the nature ofthe brand.The ‘theory’layer represents the concepts, models and figures that are key to theunderstanding of each brand approach. The third layer of ‘methods and data’provides insight into what data to look for and how to collect them whenresearching the content of a specific brand strategy. These three scientific layersadd up to managerial implications guiding how the assumptions, theories andmethods of each approach can be converted into a brand management strategy. Thefour layers comprising an approach are thus closely interconnected. The scientificclarification and the practical implications of the approaches will enable the readerto reflect on the compatibility of different elements of brand management strategiesand ensure the creation of more accurate brand management.True to its objective, Brand Management: Research, Theory and Practice doesnot provide one ‘how to’ solution meaning that we sustain from being normativewhen it comes to the overall management of a brand. Still, we are normativewithin each approach and leave it to the reader to reflect upon how different situa-tions and circumstances require different means of action. It is our hope that thisbook will equip readers with an overview and a deeper understanding that willTheoryAssumptionsMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 1.1 The logic of the approach chaptersIntroduction 5

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strategy. Being familiar with these elements is essential when reading the sevenapproach chapters, since each approach implies a distinct take on these elements.Chapter 3: Overview brand management 1985–2006. This chapter provides anoverview of the chronological development brand management has undergonesince it became a management priority in the mid-1980s and until 2006. The sevenbrand approaches are presented in a contextual and chronological setting. Thisoverview facilitates the further reading of the seven brand approach chapters.Part II, ‘Seven brand approaches’, consists of seven chapters, one for eachbrand approach. Each chapter from 4 to 10 follows the structure presented below:• A short introduction, followed by the assumptions of the approach.• The theoretical building blocks of the approach are presented. This presen-tation is divided into supporting themes and core theme. Supporting themesclarify the concepts that brand management ‘borrows’from other disciplines,making up the core theme. The core theme clarifies the theoretical buildingblocks in a brand management context.• Methods and data are reviewed. The approaches stem from different scientifictraditions, which are all associated with specific methods and perceptions ofvalidity. Understanding the methods associated with each approach enablesthe reader to request the best data possible.• The managerial implications associated with the assumptions, theories,methods and data of each approach will round off the approach chapters. Theassumed role of the marketer is explained as well as the managerial ‘do’s’and ‘don’ts’.• The key elements of each approach are illustrated by best-practice caseexamples of international well known brands. The core theme of eachapproach is highlighted by student questions.• Each chapter also features a text box overview focusing on present scopeand future directions of the approach by one or two of its academic‘founding fathers’.Part III, ‘Key takeouts’. Chapter 11, ‘Taxonomy of brand management 1985–2006’rounds off the book. It is an overview as well as a checklist. The chapter willthrough comparison give a clear picture of the differences and similarities of theseven approaches. Furthermore, the concluding chapter provides a comparisonbetween the proposed taxonomy and other brand categorizations.References and further readingAaker, D.A. and Joachimsthaler, E. (2002), Brand Leadership, Sydney: Free Press BusinessBerthon P., Nairn A. and Money A. (2003), ‘Through the paradigm funnel: conceptual toolfor literature analysis’, Marketing Education Review, Vol. 13, No. 2: 55–66Bjerre, M., Heding, T. and Knudtzen, C. F. (2008), ‘Using the dynamic paradigm funnel toanalyze brand management’, in K. Tollin and A. Caru (eds) Strategic Market Creation: ANew Perspective on Marketing and Innovation Management, Chichester: WileyIntroduction 7

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2 Key words in brandmanagementThis chapter introduces the reader to key words often used in brand management; itdoes not offer an extensive step-by-step description of the reasoning behind brandingas such. Where the seven chapters about different approaches to brand managementfocus on how the field of brand management has evolved over time and aim at facil-itating a thorough understanding of the different approaches, rather, the idea in thischapter is to give the reader an overview of key terms to be familiar with whenunderstanding what brand management is all about on a daily managerial basis.This chapter hence provides a list of key words that readers will often stumbleupon when reading brand management texts in general. Some of the key wordswill be elaborated on in the approach chapters while some of them will not be elab-orated further in this book. These key words are provided with references torecommended supplementary reading.BrandThe brand is and has been defined in many different ways over the years,depending on the perspective from which the brand is perceived. Often thatdepends on the academic background of the author/originator of the different defi-nitions. In the classical definition, the brand is linked to the identification of aproduct and the differentiation from its competitors, through the use of a certainname, logo, design or other visual signs and symbols. The American MarketingAssociation (AMA) defined the brand in 1960 as:A name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them which isintended to identify the goods or services of one seller or a group of sellersand to differentiate them from those of competitors.Other more recent definitions of branding also include internal and organizationalprocesses. Many brand management books today feature extremely broad defini-tions, because they aim at covering all the different aspects and facets of the brandand how it has developed over time.This book is all about understanding the core of different brand perspectives andtheir implications. The seven approaches offer seven quite different understandings

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of the brand and would hence result in seven different definitions. We will thereforenot give any definite brand definitions, but will provide the reader with differentperspectives on the nature of the brand. It is up to the reader to create their own defi-nitions after having read the seven brand approach chapters.Brand architectureBrand architecture is the structure that organizes the brand portfolio. It definesbrand roles and relationships among a company’s brands, e.g. the role between acar brand and the model brand (as in Volkswagen Golf). Some corporationschoose to communicate the corporate brand to the market while others choose tomarket product brands to specific segments and keep the corporate brand in thebackground. According to Olins (1990) a brand architecture can be structured inthree main ways. Monolithic brand structure equals a structure where thecompany relies solely on a corporate brand, at the other end of the spectrumthere are the individually branded products and finally the brand architecturecan consist of endorsed brands, which are a hybrid, where a corporate brand isused to endorse the corporate brands in the portfolio. If interested in more infor-mation about brand architecture, Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2002), part III andKapferer (1997), chapter 7 offer very good treatments of this subject. The maindifferences between product and corporate branding are explained in figure 5.2of this book.Brand auditA brand audit assesses the health of a brand. Typically, it consists of a brandinventory and a brand exploratory. The brand inventory is a detailed internaldescription of exactly how the brand has been marketed. The brand exploratoryis an external investigation of what the brand means to consumers (throughfocus groups and other marketing research techniques). Brand audits are mostuseful when conducted on a regular basis (source: Keller 2000). The seven brandapproaches do not go into depth with how to conduct a brand audit in practice,but inspiration for how to conduct a brand exploratory in the seven differentbrand perspectives can be found in the methods and data sections of the sevenapproach chapters.Brand communityA brand community is a social entity where consumers interact socially with abrand as the pivotal point of their interaction. Brand communities take place inInternet-based settings, in geographically bound clubs, and at so-called brandfests(social gatherings arranged by the marketer). The emergence of brand commu-nities implies a shift in negotiation power between marketer and consumer asconsumers claim more power when acting in groups. The topic will be reviewed indetail in the community approach, chapter 9, this book.10 Setting the scene

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Brand cultureBrand culture is a term that has been increasingly used over the last few years. Itsometimes refers to the organizational culture of the brand and sometimes to thebrand as part of the broader cultural landscape. For insight into the organizationalperspective of brand culture the reader can turn to the identity approach of brandmanagement in chapter 5. How brands affect macro-level culture and how theycan benefit from playing an active role in mainstream culture are the topics of thecultural approach in chapter 10. For further insight into the different meanings ofbrand culture we can recommend the anthology Brand Culture (Schroeder andSalzer-Morling 2006).Brand equityFundamentally, the goal for any brand manager is to endow products and/orservices with brand equity (Park and Srinivasan 1994; Farquhar 1989). Brandequity defines the value of the brand and can refer to two understandings of brandvalue, namely a strategic, subjective understanding or brand equity as a financial,objective expression of the value of the brand.In the financial understanding of brand equity, the concept is a way to accountfor how much value a brand holds. Brand equity is one of the intangible entries onthe balance sheet (like goodwill and know-how). Being able to account for howmuch the brand holds is extremely important, both in relation to financial state-ments, mergers, acquisitions, and as a tool for brand managers to argue their case.The subjective understanding of brand equity refers to the consumers’perceptionof the brand and is strategically valuable for brand management. Consumers are theones who experience the brand, and their perception of brand equity can be definedas: ‘A consumer perceives a brand’s equity as the value added to the functionalproduct or service by associating it with the brand name’(Aaker and Biel 1993 p. 2).A good introduction to the concept of brand equity can be found in Kapferer(1997), chapter 1. For more information about the financial approach to brandequity Simon and Sullivan (1993) and Lindemann (2004) offer good explanations.More literature about strategic approaches to brand equity can be found in Aaker(1991) and Keller (1993). Creation of brand equity is at the heart of brandmanagement and the seven brand approaches feature seven varied perspectives onhow to work strategically with brand equity optimization.Brand essenceMost academic brand management authors agree that every brand has an identityand that every brand identity contains an essence (DNA or kernel) that is the verycore of the brand. The brand essence is most often an abstract idea or sentencesummarizing what is the heart and soul of the brand. In order for the brand not tobecome compromized, the brand essence should stay the same over the course oftime and no marketing actions that will compromise the brand essence should beKey words in brand management 11

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allowed. We believe that finding the right brand essence requires insight into asmany facets of the brand as the seven approaches provide. For an introduction tobrand essence turn to the brand identity system in Aaker and Joachimsthaler(2002) and Kapferer (1997, where the same notion is called brand kernel), and inKeller (2003, where it is called brand mantra).Brand extensionsA brand can be extended into new product categories. Brand extensions are oftennecessary when adapting to changes in the environment or in order to reap the fullbenefits of a strong brand. Extensions have many benefits. In the beginning, brandextensions were used as a strategic tool mainly to enter new markets (Aaker andKeller 1990). Today, brand extensions are also used to underpin and develop thebrand to meet market changes.A successful brand extension should respect the brand essence and thereby bebased on the core of the brand and be true to the brand vision. If a brand isextended to a product category or to clients in a way that does not at all considerthe core of the original brand, both brands risk dilution. We do not address thesubject in this book: excellent treatments can be found in Kapferer (1997), chapter8 and Keller (2003), chapter 12.Brand genealogyA genealogist goes back in history, uncovers family histories and constructs familytrees. Brand genealogy is a managerial mindset introduced in the cultural brandingmodel (Holt 2004) where the brand manager goes back and uncovers the brand’shistory. In the cultural approach, it is assumed that brands play important roles inmainstream culture and that the ways they play these roles determine their level ofsuccess.An introduction to this managerial mindset is found in chapter 10 (this book),for the full treatment turn to How Brands become Icons by Douglas B. Holt (2004).Brand iconAn exclusive elite of valuable brands can claim icon status, which is considered theholy grail of brand management.An iconic brand holds references that most peopleagree upon and it obtains that status by playing an active role in contemporaryculture. An introduction to brand icons is found in chapter 10 of this book, for thefull treatment turn to How Brands Become Icons by Douglas B. Holt (2004).Brand identityBrand identity refers to the identity of the brand. There are many different percep-tions of what the brand identity consists of. But the more common definition ofbrand identity is that it is; ‘a set of associations the brand strategist seek to createor maintain’ (Aaker and Joachimsthaler 2002, p. 43). The brand identity is hence12 Setting the scene

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something that the marketer ‘has’ as well as something he tries to create throughthe right brand strategy. The brand identity must express the particular vision anduniqueness of the brand – what the brand stands for basically, and the brandidentity must be of a long-lasting or permanent nature. If the brand identity is bothunique, distinct, and a clear expression of what the brand is all about as well aslong-lasting, then it can create the basis of a solid, coherent and long-lasting brandand be the driver of all brand-related activities.Brand imageThe image of the brand is the perception of the brand by consumers. The goal ofworking strategically with brand image is to ensure that consumers hold strong andfavourable associations of the brand in their minds. The brand image typicallyconsists of multiple concepts: perception, because the brand is perceived;cognition, because that brand is cognitively evaluated; and finally attitude, becauseconsumers continuously after perceiving and evaluating what they perceive formattitudes about the brand (Aaker and Joachimsthaler 2002, p. 43; Keller 1993,2003; Grunig 1993). Brand image is the pivotal point of the consumer-basedapproach (chapter 6, this book).Brand loyaltyAchieving a high degree of loyalty is an important goal in the branding process.Loyal consumers are valuable consumers because it is much more expensive torecruit new customers than nursing and keeping existing ones. Brands areimportant vehicles when building consumer loyalty as they provide recognizablefix points in the shopping experience. Read Keller chapter 5 in (2003) about devel-oping loyalty programs. The concept of brand loyalty has been elaborated in therelational approach (chapter 8) that seeks to answer how and why loyal brandconsumers consume the brand of choice.Brand personalityConsumers display a tendency to endow brands with human-like personalities.Working strategically with brand personalities has been a widespread practice formany years. The Big Five of human personality psychology and Jungian arche-types are frameworks often implied to deepen the symbolic exchange betweenbrands and consumers. Brand personality is part of most identity systems in thetraditional brand management books. The topic of brand personality is carefullyreviewed in chapter 7 (this book) about the personality approach.Brand portfolioA brand portfolio is the range of brands a company has in the market. How thebrand portfolio is managed relates to strategic issues of brand architecture, marketKey words in brand management 13

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segmentation and product versus corporate branding. Brand Management:Research, Theory and Practice does not touch upon this subject. We recommendKapferer 1997, chapter 9 and Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2002), part III for booktreatments of this topic. New theories suggest that a brand portfolio should beanalysed in three-dimensional molecule systems, including those of competitors,Hill and Lederer (2001) and Lederer and Hill (2001).Brand positioningThe idea of brand positioning is based on the assumption that consumers havelimited mind space for commercial messages and that the most successfulbrands hence are the ones able to position themselves in the minds ofconsumers by adapting the most congruent and consistent commercialmessage. The idea is linked to the information-processing theory of consumerchoice that is the basis of the consumer-based approach in chapter 6 of thisbook. Another recommended reading is Positioning: the Battle for your Mindby Ries and Trout (2001).Brand relationThe relationship metaphor has been added to the general vocabulary of brandmanagement after having been associated with business-to-business marketing fora number of years. Consumers can perceive certain brands as viable relationshippartners and achieving that position can be an important goal in the brandmanagement process. Brand relation (like brand personality) is also part of thetraditional brand identity models. Understanding brand relationships implies adeeper understanding of brand loyalty as the brand relation provides an under-standing of how and why the brand is consumed, where brand loyalty answers ifthe brand is being consumed. The background and implications of brand relation-ships are described in chapter 8, this book.Brand revitalizationA brand sometimes ages and declines in strength because as time goes by it losesits relevance and attractiveness for consumers. There can be different reasonsfor that ageing or decline in brand relevance, e.g. the brand may not haveadapted to changes in the environment or to changes in consumer preferences.Sometimes the situation occurs where the brand simply ages along with theageing of its core consumers.The solution for an ageing brand or a brand in decline can be revitalization.The key for brand management when revitalizing a brand is always to start theprocess by identifying or reviving an existing brand vision and finding new andinnovative ways of making that brand vision relevant once again for existing ornew consumers. This book does not elaborate the topic, but we recommendchapter 11 in Kapferer (1997).14 Setting the scene

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Brand strategyThe majority of brand management books feature generic ‘one size fits all’ guide-lines for building a brand strategy. It is our conviction that the every brand isunique and requires its own unique recipe for success.The aim of a brand strategy is to enhance the internal and external opportunitiesof the brand. The brand strategy must be strategic, visionary and proactive ratherthan tactical and reactive. Each brand must find its own holy grail to success – inthe shape of a unique and relevant brand identity and brand vision, which are thefirst elements that must be in place when developing a brand strategy. The brandvision is brought to life through a customized brand strategy able to release the fullpotential of the brand. Brand managers must have long-term rather than a short-term focus. If the performance of the brand is based on quarterly sales figures,chances are that the brand strategy will end up being much more tactical thanstrategic, without enough visionary thinking to drive the growth and the strengthof the brand in the future.A prerequisite for making the brand strategy work is that it is closely linked tothe business strategy. This means that the brand and the brand strategy should notbe perceived as something other than or as an addition to business strategydeveloped at late stages in a product launch for example. In an ideal world,business and brand strategy should be developed simultaneously and supporteach other. The brand vision must also resonate with consumers and differentiatethe brand from competitors. Once the brand vision has been established, acustomized range of elements that comprise the brand strategy should be priori-tized and developed. The brand strategy will typically consist of a customizedrange of elements from the seven brand approaches. Each of the seven brandapproaches has certain strengths and weaknesses, which is why a customizedcombination of elements from the relevant approaches that matches the specificchallenges and opportunities the brand faces will provide a foundation for theright brand strategy.Great guidelines for the implementation of the brand strategy can be found inthe managerial implications of each approach. Here, it is possible to evaluatewhich managerial steps are in line with the approaches on which the brand identityand brand vision are based.Brand stretchIt is assumed that all brands have a core that should stay the same over the course oftime (see the section about brand essence). When a brand is extended into newproduct categories, or joins co-branding ventures, its identity is stretched. The trickis to stretch it enough to be able to go in new directions, but never to stretch it tosuch an extent that the essence is diluted. Since this book does not go into moredetail with brand stretch, for a more thorough review of the subject we recommendchapter 8 in Kapferer (1997).Key words in brand management 15

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Co-brandingCo-branding occurs when two or more brands are combined in a joint product orbrand. This phenomenon is also called brand alliances or brand bundling. The twocompanies should consider carefully what their strategic alliance means for theirrespective brand portfolios, as their brands will become more associated in thefuture through the new product. Keller (2003) chapter 7 describes thisphenomenon in more detail.Corporate brandWhen the corporation is branded instead of the individual products, a corporatebrand is the case. In most literature on corporate branding it is assumed that theenergy and inspiration of the brand stem from within the organization and that abranding strategy, in order to be successful, requires the engagement of the wholecorporation. Read more in chapter 5 (this book) about the identity approach.Employee brandingEmployee branding is defined as ‘the process by which employees internalize thedesired brand image and are motivated to project the image to customers and otherorganizational constituents’(Miles and Mangold 2004 p. 68). It is a notion resem-bling the ‘living the brand’ concept a lot; turn to chapter 5 (this book) about theidentity approach, Miles and Mangold (2004) and the references mentioned under‘living the brand’ for further insight.Employer brandingThe term ‘employer branding’ relates to strategies for communicating about acompany as an attractive employer to both current and potential employees. It isa hot management topic at the moment with a corresponding number of booksand articles. Employer branding will not be elaborated on in this book; relevantliterature to turn to is Barrow and Mosley (2005) emphasizing the interrela-tionship between HR, communication and top management, and Lievens andHighhouse (2003) about the emotive and tangible benefits for both potential andactual employees.Living the brandEmployees are important bearers of the brand, especially when it comes to servicebrands. ‘Living the brand’ is an end-goal in the process of engaging employees inthe branding process. Making employees live the brand mean that employeesincorporate and live brand values and thereby deliver the brand promise fully toconsumers. The concept is briefly reviewed in the identity approach, chapter 5 ofthis book, other recommended readings are Ind (2001) and Karmark (2005).16 Setting the scene

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Product brandA product brand is a brand linked to the product and not to the corporation anddescribes a situation where each individual product has its own brand. Choosing tobrand the corporation or the product is a question of brand architecture. Marketinga product brand holds several advantages, such as the liberty to market to differentsegments, the ability to close unsuccessful brands without harming the mothercorporation, etc. Product branding is compared to corporate branding in figure 5.2in this book.Service brandService brands are brands that sell services instead of products. This means thatthe brand is experienced in the process of consuming the service and that theemployee delivering the service becomes a central communicator of the brand.Service brands can benefit from all the same insights as product brands, but asthe service encounter requires dedicated employees and human interaction,service brand managers might benefit more from the identity approach and therelational approach (Vallaster and de Chernatony 2005, de Chernatony andDrury 2004).Viral brandingThe term covers mechanisms where consumers help or in some cases take over themarketing of the brand. A marketer who applies a certain amount of ‘coolness’ tothe brand often initiates viral branding, the coolness starts a process whereconsumers spread the brand like a virus. Having consumers support the marketingprocess, and by their autonomy giving the brand a higher level of authenticity, canbe beneficial for the marketer. Still, viral branding implies a risk of a contrarymarketing effort, where the brand is ‘hijacked’ and taken in unintended directionsthrough autonomous meaning-making among consumers. Even though a brandcommunity is a narrower concept than viral branding, the mechanisms behind thetwo concepts are comparable; they are described in the community approach,chapter 9. Another suggested read is Brand Hijack: Marketing without Marketingby Wipperfürth (2005).References and further readingAaker, D. A. (1991), Managing Brand Equity, New York: Free PressAaker, D. A. and Biel, A. L. (1993) Brand Equity and Advertising: Advertising’s Role inBuilding Strong Brands, Hillsdale NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum AssociatesAaker, D.A. and Joachimsthaler, E. (2002) Brand Leadership, Sydney: Free Press BusinessAaker, D. A. and Keller, K. L. (1990) ‘Consumer evaluations of brand extensions’, Journalof Marketing, 54 (1): 27–41Abratt, R. (1989) ‘Anew approach to the corporate image management process’, Journal ofMarketing Management, 5 (1): 63–76Key words in brand management 17

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3 Overview: brand management1985–2006This chapter provides an overview of how brand management has developed fromits first hesitant beginning in 1985 and onwards.As described in the introduction, wehave identified seven brand approaches forming the backbone of this book. Butbefore going into detail with the seven approaches in Part II, we will present thembriefly and explore the overall evolution that has taken place in brand managementbetween 1985 and 2006. Weaknesses of one approach often lead to the developmentof a new one and this interconnectedness of the seven brand managementapproaches is briefly introduced in this chapter. This overview of how brandmanagement has evolved, the seven approaches, and the environmental drivers andchanges that have triggered this evolution will facilitate the further reading andenable the reader to understand how the seven brand approaches are interconnected.Learning objectivesThe purpose of this chapter is to:Provide an overview of brand management• How brand management as a scientific discipline has evolved between1985 and 2006Provide insight into the different paradigms in brand management1985–2006• Apositivist paradigm ruled brand management in the first period of time• An interpretive paradigm surfaced over the course of the 1990sIntroduce the seven brand approaches• The reader is introduced to the seven brand approaches before they areexplored more in detail in part IIUnderstand three distinctly different periods of time• The overall evolution of brand management can be divided into threeperiods of time• Each period displays different approaches in brand management

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The seven approaches can be seen as links in a continuous evolution that slowlybut surely has changed the field of brand management, making some approachesmore relevant than others in a given time frame. But it is important for us to stressthat the birth of one approach does not imply the end of the ‘previous’ one(s). Thebrand approaches complement rather than substitute each other if one looks atthem one by one. When we claim that an approach becomes important in a givenperiod of time, it does not necessarily mean that it becomes dominant, but ratherthat it is novel and that the research behind it is strong enough to constitute a newschool of thought. Some of the older approaches are easy to criticize becausemuch effort has been put into creating new and more suitable methods to explainconsumption phenomena since their day. Still, we believe that valuable things canbe learned from all seven approaches.In this introductory chapter, we will first describe the two brand managementparadigms that have been present between 1985 and 2006. Thereafter, the sevenbrand approaches will be described. It makes sense to break the period of timedown into three main periods. The periods are distinctively different and form thebackdrop of the seven approaches. Understanding the dynamic movement fromone period to another provides insight into the development of the body ofresearch literature constituting the academic discipline of brand management.Two brand management paradigmsPerhaps due to the elusive nature of the brand, the term ‘brand paradigm’ is oftenused at random in the branding discipline. The analysis of brand management thathas provided the seven approaches framework or categorization of brandmanagement presented in this book is based on the philosophy of science byThomas Kuhn, who is one of the most influential contributors to knowledge about‘paradigms’. Without going into too much detail with the paradigm concept, wewill touch briefly upon the paradigmatic development of brand management.From 1985 to 2006 two overriding paradigms have been present in the academicworld of brand management: one with a positivistic point of departure and one ofa constructivist or interpretive nature. The positivistic stance implies a notion ofthe brand being ‘owned’ by the marketer, who controls the communication to apassive recipient/consumer. Brand equity is perceived to be created by themarketer and the brand is seen as: ‘A manipulable lifeless artefact (product plusthat is created by its owners/managers and that can be positioned, segmented andused to create an image)’ (Hanby 1999, p. 12). The interpretive paradigm reflectson the nature of the brand and the value of brand equity as something created in theinteraction between marketer and an active consumer: ‘As holistic entities withmany of the characteristics of living beings’ (Hanby 1999, p. 10) and ‘As a livingentity (with a personality with which we can form a relationship and that canchange and evolve over time)’ (Hanby 1999, p. 12).Aparadigm shift takes place in brand management over the course of the 1990s.It does not happen overnight but is an incremental process changing the discipline.The birth of the relational approach is an important indicator of the shift from aOverview 21

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positivist paradigm with the more functionalistic brand perspective to an inter-pretive paradigm with a constructivist perspective on the brand and how it shouldbe managed.Seven brand approachesAnalyzing more than twenty years of brand management has been a fascinatingjourney and the seven brand approaches can be described as the mountain peakswe have encountered along the way. An approach is not a paradigm in itself (atleast not in the original Kuhnian sense of the word) but a particular ‘school ofthought’ governing the global understanding of the nature of the brand, theconsumer perspective and the methods associated with the scientific traditionbehind the approach. Under the umbrella of a paradigm, different approaches areable to coexist.The seven approaches are presented in the chronological order in which theyhave appeared in the data set of our analysis. Going through the period of time wehave studied, it makes sense to divide it into three sections. The first period of timeis 1985–92, the second is 1993–99 and the last one begins from 2000 and onwards.In the first period, brand management focused on the company behind thebrand and the actions the company would take to influence the consumer. In thenext period of time, the receiver of brand communication is the main point ofinterest and brand management adopts a human perspective on the nature of thebrand. In the last period, it is the contextual and cultural forces behindconsumption choices and brand loyalty that are investigated in the ground-breaking articles and new literature.In this section we will briefly describe the three periods, explain how the sevenapproaches are anchored in them, and touch upon the dynamic developmentleading from one period to the next.1985–1992: company/sender focusIn the infancy of brand management, the research focuses on the company assender of brand communication. This focus forms the background of the two firstapproaches in brand management; the economic approach and the identityapproach.The research of the economic approach is centered on the possibilities of thecompany to manage the brand via the marketing mix elements: product,placement, price and promotion, and how these factors can be manipulated toaffect consumer brand choice. Quantitative data are the principal rule in thisperiod. Researchers often use either data from supermarket scanner systems orlaboratory experiments as the empirical basis of data. In the identity approach,research focuses on how the identity of the company as whole can shape acoherent brand message that is communicated to all shareholders.It is assumed that the brand is ‘owned’ by the company and that the brand iscommunicated in a linear fashion from the company to the consumer.22 Setting the scene

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The economic approach: the brand as part of the traditional marketing mixThe point of departure for brand management is that it is a breakaway disciplinefrom the broad scope of marketing. Hence, the discipline starts out with a researchenvironment marked by traditional marketing mix theory (the Four Ps). Thecreation of brand value is investigated as influenced by changes in e.g. distributionchannels, price modifications and promotions. A functionalistic brand perspectiveapplies, as does a consumer perspective based on the notion of the ‘economicman’. The economic consumer bases consumption decisions on rational consider-ations and the exchange between the brand and the consumer is assumed to beisolated tangible transactions. Laboratory settings and scanner data are illustrativeof the methodologies and (always quantitative) data. The marketer is definitely incharge of brand value creation, and hence consumers are believed to ‘receive’andunderstand the messages ‘sent’ to them from the marketer exactly as intended.The identity approach: the brand as linked to corporate identityThe economic approach lays the foundation for brand management as an inde-pendent scientific discipline, but one more stream of research is also influentialduring the first years of this inquiry. This approach behind the notion of corporatebranding is the second oldest one in this context, but is still very influential andunder constant theoretical development. Especially in the European research envi-ronment the brand as linked with corporate identity is a very influential school ofthought. Focusing on corporate identity, the brand is also primarily perceived as anentity ‘owned’by the marketer (even though that perception has changed in recentyears). Integration of the brand on all organizational levels is key in themanagement of the brand. The marketer (as corporation) is in charge of brandvalue creation. Processes of organizational culture and corporate construction ofidentity are key influences.1993–1999: human/receiver focusThe shift in attention towards the receiver of brand communication instigates anew period of time entirely different from the period 1985–93. New and ground-breaking research articles investigate the receiver of communication, andknowledge from different veins of human psychology are adapted to brandmanagement theory. The human perspective is two-sided: the consumer is investi-gated closely and different human brand perspectives are coming into play. Thehumanistic and individualistic approaches – namely the consumer-basedapproach, the personality approach, and the relational approach – see the light ofday in these years.During 1993–99 data collection becomes ‘softer’; quantitative, qualitative aswell as mixed research designs are applied to the studies of the brand–consumerexchange. The relational approach is the first approach founded on an entirelyqualitative study.Overview 23

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The consumer-based approach: the brand as linked with consumer associationsIn 1993 Kevin Lane Keller founded a completely new approach to brandmanagement. The brand is perceived as a cognitive construal in the mind of theconsumer. It is assumed that a strong brand holds strong, unique and favourableassociations in the minds of consumers. In this fashion, attention shifts from thesender towards the receiving end of brand communication. The consumer is the‘owner’ of the brand in this approach, but still an assumption of linear communi-cation applies. The consumer perspective of this approach is rooted in cognitivepsychology, and in this tradition the computer is the main metaphor for man as aconsumer. This consumer perspective implies linear communication because themarketer is perceived to be able to ‘program’the consumer into intended action. Thisschool of thought has since become the most dominant one in brand management.The personality approach: the brand as a human-like characterAnother mountain top in brand management was established in 1997 when aresearch study into brand personality was published. This study shows thatconsumers have a tendency to endow brands with human-like personalities. It isthe ‘human’brand perspective and the symbol-consuming consumer that are in thespotlight in this approach. Consumers endow brands with personalities and usethese personalities in a dialogue-based exchange of symbolic value for their indi-vidual identity construction and expression. The personality approach is rooted inhuman personality psychology and uses of quantitative scaling techniques in acombination with more explorative methods to identify and measure brandpersonality. The personality approach is a prerequisite for and very much asso-ciated with the relational approach.The relational approach: the brand as a viable relationship partnerThe idea of a dyadic relationship between brand and consumer profoundlychanged the academic discipline of brand management. The notion of the brandbeing a viable relationship partner builds on the same human brand metaphor asthe personality approach. The approach extends the dialogue-based approach tobrand management as instigated in the personality approach. The relationalapproach is rooted in the philosophical tradition of existentialism and the methodsare of a phenomenological nature. These roots imply that a paradigm shift istaking place because they are so fundamentally different from the roots of researchmethods used in the first approaches to brand management.2000–2006: cultural/context focusProfound theoretical changes emerge both from academic discussions and fromsignificant environmental changes affecting how humans consume brands.Environmental changes often imply a development of our theoretical frameworks24 Setting the scene

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because new phenomena arise that cannot be explained by means of the existingtheories. A need for new theoretical tools to explain new phenomena is very muchthe driver behind the two newest approaches. Technological and cultural changeshave profoundly changed the rules of the game in brand management in the lastperiod of time.The new phenomena calling for new theories are phenomena likeautonomous consumers, brand icons, anti-branding movements and internet-based brand communities. The most novel and innovative research looks atthese new consumption patterns through new lenses trying to explain thecontext of brand consumption.Two approaches can be identified in this period of time: the communityapproach and the cultural approach. The community approach brings influencesfrom anthropological consumption studies, socio-cultural influences andconsumer empowerment. The cultural approach explores how brands are aninherent part of our culture and explains how playing an active role in mainstreamculture can turn a brand into an icon. Hence, cultural and contextual influencesadd new perspectives to the discipline of brand management from 2000 to 2006.The community approach: the brand as the pivotal point of social interactionThe community approach is based on anthropological research into so-calledbrand communities. Brand value is created in these communities where a brandserves as the pivotal point of social interaction among consumers. This approachthus adds an understanding of the social context of consumption to the overallpicture of brand management. This understanding has become a prerequisite formanaging many brands, especially after the Internet has profoundly changed themarket place. In the community approach, the marketer deals with ‘autonomous’groups of consumers who are able to collectively influence marketing actions andpotentially ‘take over’ the brand and take it into a direction not at all intended bythe marketer. The field of brand management has come a long way from theassumptions of linear communication behind the earlier approaches to acceptingthe chaotic autonomous consumer forces in this approach.The cultural approach: the brand as part of the broader cultural fabricThe last approach in this context is the cultural approach. Just like the communityapproach, the cultural approach emanates around the millennium. The brand isseen as a cultural artefact in this approach, giving life to both a fierce anti-branding discourse and a theory of how to build an iconic brand. The approachborrows from the scientific tradition of cultural studies and makes use of a widevariety of qualitative methods. The attention has shifted from the transactionbetween a marketer and a consumer (or groups of consumers) to a macroperspective. The approach both explains what branding does to macro-levelculture and how embedding the brand in cultural forces can be used strategicallyto build an iconic brand.Overview 25

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SummaryIn marketing research, seven brand management approaches have been identifiedduring 1985–2006: the economic approach, the identity approach, the consumer-based approach, the personality approach, the relational approach, the communityapproach and the cultural approach. These approaches reflect a developmentwhere the focus has shifted from the sending end of brand communications in thefirst period of time; have then turned their attention to the receiving end in thesecond period; and finally have addressed contextual and cultural influences onthe brand to the global understanding of brand consumption.Somewhere around the birth of the relational approach in 1998 a paradigm shiftis instigated in brand management, with an implied shift from quantitative to qual-itative methods, an acknowledgement of consumers’ ownership of the brand, andan embrace of the more chaotic forces in consumer culture.Box 3.1 depicts how the paradigm shift has taken place somewhere around thebirth of the relational approach, and how the three periods of time form the back-ground of the seven brand approaches. This is only a brief introduction to a fasci-nating journey into the world of brand management. The interconnected web ofassumptions, brand perspective, consumer perspective, theories and methods ofeach approach will be explained in Part II of this book.ReferenceHanby, T. (1999), ‘Brands dead or alive’, Journal of Market Research Society, 41 (1): 7–1926 Setting the sceneBox 3. 1 Overview of brand management 1985–2006Two paradigms Three periods of time Seven brand approachesPositivistic Company/sender focus The economic approachThe identity approachHuman/receiver focus The consumer-based approachThe personality approachConstructivistThe relational approachCultural/context focus The community approachThe cultural approach

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4 The economic approachThe economic approach is the first approach of this book and the approach uponwhich all the consecutive approaches in brand management rest. Since theeconomic approach describes the first approach to brand management, and hencethe foundation for how brands have been (and are) managed, it is important tounderstand the line of thought underlying the economic approach. Since theLearning objectivesThe purpose of this chapter is to:Understand the assumptions of the economic approach• Consumers base consumption decisions on rational parameters and theexchange between brand and consumer is perceived to be linear, func-tional and transaction-basedUnderstand the theoretical building blocks of the economic approach• The supporting themes – transaction theory and marketing mix theory –make up the core theme: the economic brandProvide insights into the methods of the economic approach• The economic approach primarily uses quantitative methods to explorehow the management of marketing mix variables affects consumerbrand choiceUnderstand the managerial implications• The Four Ps can help the brand manager plan and execute a brandstrategy within the economic approach• The strengths and weaknesses of the economic approach and the keypoints of critique to which the economic approach has been subject

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economic approach is more comprehensible and not as complex as some in theconsecutive chapters, this chapter is somewhat shorter than the other approachchapters and focuses more on the background and assumptions of the approach. Itis important to understand this background in depth because understanding thebackground will enable the reader to get a good idea of the strengths and weak-nesses of the economic approach as well as understand the foundation for the otherapproaches in brand management.Fast-moving consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble gave birth to thefirst management practices of brand management with its product managementapproach. The theories underlining the way that this big multinational producer offast-moving consumer goods during the 1930s dealt with brand management weremainly borrowed from neoclassical economics and classical marketing theory.The fast-moving consumer goods industry has since played a major role in theevolution of brand management research and practice.The economic approach builds on one of the most fundamental concepts inmarketing, namely the idea that the right marketing mix will generate optimalsales. Neil Borden first introduced the marketing mix concept when he deductedtwelve factors that management should consider when planning and implementingmarketing strategy. One can argue that the whole idea of brand management reallyrests on his initial factor theory of marketing (Borden 1964). The twelve elementsreflected internal considerations and relevant market forces in relation tomarketing strategy. It was a framework constructed to guide managers throughmarketing questions and help them structure the planning and implementation ofmarketing strategy.E. Jerome McCarthy later narrowed Borden’s framework down into the Four Psframework we know today (McCarthy 1964). The Four Ps (reflecting product,place, price and promotion) have since been immortalized by numerous marketingbooks and become everyday marketing practice in countless marketing depart-ments around the world and often make up the first introduction students get tomarketing and brand management.Brand management adopted the Four Ps concept from marketing and during themid and late 1980s, much research focus was directed towards exploring howdifferent factors of the marketing mix affect consumers’ brand choice. Thischapter will give the reader an overview of key themes and concepts that haveshaped the economic approach and its applicability in practice.The description of the economic approach is divided into four main sections,according to the structure laid out in the introduction. The assumptions describethe implicit view of the nature of the brand and the premises of thebrand–consumer exchange. The theoretical building blocks describe the concepts,models and figures key to the economic approach. Methods and data provideinsight into what data to look for and how to collect it, when researching thecontent of a specific brand strategy. These three scientific layers add up to a mana-gerial ‘how-to’ guide for how the assumptions, theories and methods of theapproach can be converted into a brand management strategy in practice.The economic approach is the first identified approach in brand management30 Seven brand approaches

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and the elements of the economic approach serve as a prerequisite for mostplanning and execution of brand management still today. The economic approachis therefore of great importance, but since brand management has evolved drasti-cally over the years, the approach has also been subjected to criticism as newperceptions of consumption and new theories have evolved. The chapter willhence be rounded off with a discussion of the key points of critique, which servesas a natural point of departure for understanding the development of the forth-coming approaches in brand management.Assumptions of the economic approachIn the economic approach, it is assumed that the brand can be controlled andmanaged by the company. If management gets the marketing mix right, then thebrand will be successful and strong. Consumers in this approach to brandmanagement are perceived to be more or less passive receivers of marketingmessages, who analyse and evaluate brand messages rationally. This perception ofthe consumer is associated with how the concept the economic man perceivesexchanges of goods and consumption.Microeconomics and the economic manThe assumptions and premises of the economic approach have their origin in thetheoretical model of exchange derived from micro-economic theory andmarketing. The model of exchange in micro-economics is a purely theoreticalmodel, which means that the assumptions and key models are the result of theo-rizing rather than empirical research. The basic premises of the economicapproach go back to a neoclassical micro-economic perception of market forces insociety. In The Wealth of Nations Adam Smith argued that if one would let marketforces govern the allocation of resources and the exchange of goods, then an‘invisible hand’ would allocate resources in a way that optimizes both the indi-vidual and societal beneficial use of available resources. In this perception ofmarket forces lies an assumption that individuals pursue self-interest and attemptto maximize revenue or utility function.The principle of the ‘invisible hand’ assumes that resources are allocatedaccording to where they will give the highest possible functional outcome orrevenue because efficient methods of production will be adopted by manufac-turers in order to accommodate the utility-maximizing behaviour displayed by theThe economic approach 31Marketing mix ConsumerCompanyFigure 4.1 The brand–consumer exchange of the economic approach

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individual. The economic man is the concept that is often used about theseassumptions of human behaviour. The assumptions of the economic man are:• Human behaviour is guided by rational parameters.• Humans will attempt to maximize their own satisfaction and strive formaximum utility in any exchange – self-interest is an important parameter.• Humans have ‘perfect information’ about the available alternatives.• The exchange between two parties is perceived as an isolated event.• Consumers are constrained by limited income, which forces them to behavein a way that will ensure that they get the most out of their income – they willact to maximize the utility of their income.The logic is hence applicable both at the market scale and at an individual level,because it is assumed that the individual will always pursue self-interest and makeconsumption decisions that are based on rational parameters, deliver individualutility maximization and hence make the best rational choice possible. In aconsumption and brand management context this means that a consumer willalways go for the deal that provides the best functional utility compared with theprice of the product. It is hence assumed not only that consumers are able tooversee all available choices, but also that they are able to and will evaluate allthese choices and choose the best deal from a rational point of view.The brand–consumer exchange and transaction cost theoryTransaction cost theory is closely linked with the stream of neoclassical micro-economic logic explained above and describes the relationship companies haveto the market; it defines the firm theoretically in relation to the marketplace. The32 Seven brand approachesBox 4.1 Economic man: Individual and societal maximization in asupermarket checkout queueA simple example of how the principle of the ‘invisible hand’ works inpractice is how customers behave in the queue for a supermarket checkout.According to the assumptions of the economic man, each customer willautomatically try to maximize her own self-interest – which in a super-market checkout queue is to check out in the shortest time possible. Mostpeople will hence choose the shortest queue whenever getting in line. Inthis example customer utility maximizing choice is hence to queue up inthe line with fewest people. From a general perspective this has the conse-quence that customers queue up in lines that all end up having the samelength. Therefore without the slightest direction and by following onlytheir own self-interest, customers will automatically have queued up in amanner that is most efficient on an individual level, but also from asocietal perspective.

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theory of transaction costs builds on the same assumption as the principle of the‘invisible hand’ that all actors involved in the exchange of goods will displaybehaviour of optimization. From a manufacturer point of view, not only is ithence important to supply the best deal, but from a marketing perspective it isequally important to reduce the transaction costs associated with the search,purchase and consumption of a product. It is on these assumptions of behaviourof optimization and minimization of transaction costs that the theories of theeconomic approach to brand management are based. These assumptions definethe relationship a company has with the market focusing on price, demand andsupply. The theoretical origin of the marketing mix concept in neoclassicalmicro-economics and transaction theory is reflected in how the exchangebetween brands and consumers is perceived.The transaction costs the economic consumer might have when finding thebest possible deal can however be a barrier that, from a rational perspective,makes it difficult to choose the right brand or product. If transaction costs are toohigh – if e.g. it is too difficult to find and buy the product – then the consumermight choose another product even though it might not deliver maximum utilitycompared with other products or compared with the price. In the economicapproach, it is therefore crucial that transaction costs are minimized. Themarketer can do this by ensuring that the right product, at the right price, is madeknown and accessible to consumers through adequate brand management. Thiswill ensure that consumers are always aware of the product whenever they need itand that they have easy access to purchasing the product. Hence it aims at mini-mizing the transaction costs consumers might have and facilitates consumers’decision process because it aims at diminishing the barriers to an ‘economic man’brand choice behaviour. The exchange between the brand and the consumer ishence perceived to be of a transaction-like nature, where the consumer acts as an‘economic man’ who rationally evaluates all available choices and chooses thebest available offer. The communication between the brand and the consumer isperceived to be linear and rather functional, because once a certain frame hasbeen set by the marketer it is expected that consumers will respond with a certainbrand choice behaviour.Consumption is hence perceived to be the result of consumers’ insatiable desirefor goods and services and is not influenced by social interaction, culture or thewell-being of others. This is why very rational factors like awareness, price andincome are perceived to be key factors in the economic approach when consumersmake consumption choices. Brands are regarded as signals that can reduce theuncertainty that will always be present in any transaction, before consumers make abrand choice. Hence the economic approach does not, like the other approachesdescribed in this book, include consumers’hedonic consumption that satisfies moreemotional and irrational wants and desires. The brand–consumer exchange isperceived merely as an exchange of goods consisting of one or more transactions,as opposed to the other approaches, where the exchange between brand andconsumer is perceived more broadly as a relationship with different characteristics,depending on the specific approach. So what does this difference in the perceptionThe economic approach 33

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34 Seven brand approachesof the brand–consumer exchange imply? It implies that every time the primary goalis to achieve a transaction, as opposed to a lasting relationship, the exchange ishence analysed as an isolated event.In the theoretical models there is little interaction between the brand and theconsumer. It is assumed that brand choice is based on a linear communication,where the marketer sends off brand messages in the shape of a product, price, aplacement and promotions, and the consumer receives these messages and acts onthem (make the purchase) if they are right. That exchange is hence perceived toconsist of the mere transaction without interactivity; in fact very few or noexternal, uncontrollable factors are included in the theoretical apparatusSummaryThe assumptions of the economic approach are based on neoclassical micro-economics of how market forces allocate resources most efficiently through theprinciple of the ‘invisible hand’ and classic marketing theory. The consumer isassumed to be able to make rationally based brand consumption choices and to befocused on utility maximization, which is why they will always choose whateverbrand delivers the best utility value compared with the price. The theoreticalapparatus is based on the basic ideas from transaction marketing, where it isassumed that the exchange between brand and consumer consists of isolatedtransactions rather than an ongoing relationship. The primary goal of brandcommunication is hence to ensure that consumers are aware of the fine qualitiesof the brand at the right time and place through linear communication from thebrand to the consumer.AssumptionsTheoryMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 4.2 Assumptions of the economic approach

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Theoretical building blocks of the economic approachThe economic approach builds on traditional economic theory of exchange wherethe principles of the invisible hand and the economic man guide behaviour andtransaction cost theory. This section will account for each of the theoreticalbuilding blocks (supporting themes) that make up the core theme – the economicbrand. The supporting themes of the economic approach to brand managementconsist respectively of transaction cost theory describing the transaction-basedperspective on exchange between brand and consumer and the concept of themarketing mix describing the marketing mix parameters that are key whenbuilding a brand strategy in the economic approach.Supporting theme: transaction cost theoryThe principle of the invisible hand and the perception of the consumer as aneconomic man imply that any consumption choice is the result of a reasoningprocess, where the involved partners will choose whatever will maximize theirown profit or utility. However, in consumer behaviour there are some exceptionsto this rule, because consumer behaviour does not always display a utility-maxi-mizing consumption choice behaviour. Transaction cost theory takes these excep-tions into consideration. Consumers, for example, do not have perfect informationand accessibility to all choice available, or consumers can have switching costswhen shifting from one brand to another. According to the assumptions of the‘invisible hand’ and the economic man, these barriers to the perfect exchange arecalled transaction costs.Transaction costs are hence barriers to utility maximization. The goal for brandmanagement in the economic approach is to eliminate these transaction costs andfacilitate transactions. The next transaction is hence the ultimate goal in theeconomic approach. A good measurement of whether or not a brand strategy isefficient is hence measuring the number of transactions or, expressed differently,sales figures. Focusing excessively on sales figures alone implies a rather short-term focus as opposed to the focus of the remaining brand approaches in this bookthat have a more relational perspective on brand-building activities.The economic approach 35Supporting theme:Marketing MixSupporting theme:Transaction CostCore theme:The Economic BrandFigure 4.3 Supporting themes of the economic approach

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The barriers to transactions described in the transaction cost theory stand in oppo-sition to the assumption that consumers act rationally because transaction costtheory proposes that in any exchange or prior to any transaction consumers arelimited by bounded rationality. This means that transaction cost theory acknowl-edges that consumers are not able to have a complete overview of options and theyare hence not able to make a perfect rationally based consumption decision,because they are not cognitively able to grasp all information about all availablebrand alternatives. Since consumers are constrained by limited cognitive capabil-ities which confine their ability to make rational consumption choices, it is crucialthat the marketer facilitates transactions by providing the consumer with the rightinformation about the product and about the product utility benefits, and ensuresthat the product itself is available at all relevant points of contact with theconsumer. Insights into these barriers to transactions have spurred the devel-opment of the next supporting theme: the concept of marketing mix. It was origi-nally developed as a means for transaction marketing and provided the operationalplanning and execution tools that can facilitate transaction exchanges betweenbrand and consumer and help consumers make the right rationally basedconsumption decisions. The second supporting theme of the economic approach ishence the marketing mix also known as the Four Ps.Box 4.2 Transactional versus relational perspective on brandmanagementThe transactional perspective has a rather short-term time perspective,because transactions are perceived to be isolated events and the primaryfocus for the marketer is hence the next transaction rather than relationshipbuilding. Price is believed to be an important parameter and consumers areassumed to be focused on the functional, technical quality of the brand orproduct they purchase. Managerial efforts for companies operating in atransactional momentum are often directed to the rather tactical managementand improvement of the marketing mix, to target large numbers ofconsumers with mass communication, and ensuring product quality, sold inthe right place, for the right price.In a relational perspective, the time perspective is longer and the primaryfocus is on building long-lasting relationships with consumers. Consumersare in the relational perspective perceived to be less sensitive to price andmore concerned with the quality of the interaction or relation they have withthe brand. Companies operating in the relational modus operandi oftenfocus on the combination of database techniques and direct marketing toolsaimed at ensuring a good and stable relation with the individual consumer,rather than the more mass communication-oriented means of communi-cation used in the transactional perspective.Source Hultman and Shaw (2003)36 Seven brand approaches

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Supporting theme: marketing mixWithin the economic approach, where the transaction exchange between the brandand consumers is the core, the marketing mix offers a managerial approach tofacilitating these exchanges. Expressed by theAmerican MarketingAssociation in1985: ‘Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing,promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to create exchanges thatsatisfy individual and organisational objectives’ (Hultman and Shaw 2003, p. 37).The aim with the marketing mix concept is to understand how transactions arecreated and how these insights can be used to apply a more systematicmanagement of marketing strategy and activities. Furthermore the objective withthe marketing mix is, through analysis, to ensure profitable spending of marketingresources adhering not only to marketing, but also to other functions that have aninfluence on the effectiveness of the relation between the company and itsmarkets. The marketing mix hence describes the function of the marketer as:the marketing man as an empiricist seeking in any situation to devise a prof-itable ‘pattern’ or ‘formula’ of marketing operations from among the manyprocedures and policies were open to him. If he was a ‘mixer of ingredients’,what he designed was a ‘marketing mix’(Borden 1984, p. 9).The line of thought is that the right marketing mix can ensure an efficientconnection between the company and the market place. The point of departure ofthe marketing mix is, hence, that attributes related to the Four Ps (product, price,place and promotion) are the main mechanisms behind the creation andmanagement of brand equity. The primary purpose for brand management is,according to these premises, to produce, promote and distribute goods that areattractive to consumers because they deliver the best deal measured by the utilityvalue the goods offer, compared with the utility value competitors offer, related tothe price consumers are willing to pay. Brand managers are assumed to be able tocontrol consumers’ brand choice behaviour by ensuring an optimum mix betweenthe four main elements of the marketing mix. The marketing mix is hence a keyinstrument for understanding and facilitating transactions between the companyand the market. The logic is that a brand will succeed only if the manufacturer ofthat brand is able to produce a product that delivers high utility benefits, then sellsit at the right price, in the right places, and promotes it to such an extent and insuch a way that spurs consumer awareness. The Four Ps – product, place, price andpromotion – are hence key denominators of a brand’s success.The marketing mix quickly became an unchallenged basic model of marketingand the Four Ps have gone their course of victory across the world of marketing:‘since its introduction, McCarthy’s (1960) description of a marketing mixcomprised of product, price, promotion and place has widely become regarded asan ‘infallible’ guide for the effective planning and implementation of marketingstrategy’ (Grönroos 1994, p. 4)The economic approach 37

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ProductThe product represents the tangible, physical product itself and the benefits that theconsumer can gain from buying the brand. It includes the design, brand name, func-tionality, quality, safety, packaging, etc. The product encompasses all the tangibleaspects of the product a manufacturer offers. The primary aim of the product is tobe able to satisfy a functional demand – the functionality of the product, as such, isvery important and the first prerequisite in the economic approach.PriceThe price refers to the price that consumer will eventually pay for the product.The price is in the economic approach based on the total cost of manufacturingthe product, the distribution and advertising cost. These direct and indirectproduction costs combined with a competitive analysis, and perhaps uncoveringhow much consumers are willing to pay for the product, make up the input for theanalysis of what the price of the product should be. There are, however, otheraspects of price that are important in the economic approach. The price factor ofthe marketing mix is closely linked with the marketing mix factor of promotion.Since promotions are often used as a way to increase awareness or boost sales inthe economic approach – pricing strategies are often planned based on scannerdata from supermarket checkouts measuring how promotions affect the overalldemand for the brand.PlacePlace in the marketing mix refers to the distribution of the product from themanufacturer to the end consumer. In short it is about making goods availablein the right quantities in the right locations. It is essential here to considerwhich distribution channels will be most effective for the brand and to developa supply chain strategy that fits with the attributes of the brand and the demandsof the consumers. This supply chain strategy implies the identification of theright channel partners, inventory management basically ensuring that all stepsfrom when the brand leaves the production site until it reaches the consumer aregeared and optimized.PromotionPromotion represents the various elements that a marketing plan can consist ofwhen promoting a brand. In the economic approach, the aspects of promotionthat have received most interest are promotion and advertising. Advertisingcovers all the primary functions involved in ensuring that consumers are awareof the brand at the best possible moment when they are looking to buy a productin the relevant product category. An important part of advertising in recentresearch in the economic approach is signalling theory. Signalling theory inves-38 Seven brand approaches

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tigates what signals are the most efficient to reveal the unobserved product qual-ities of a brand. The brand name, packaging or placement can help reveal unob-served product qualities and communicate important marketing messages to theconsumer. Promotion is a tool that has been heavily used and researched in theeconomic approach. The accessibility of scanner panel data has made researchinto the short- and long-term effect that promotion has on sales a key topic notonly in research but also in practice in many sales and marketing departments.Core theme: the economic brandThe premises of the economic brand is hence that it operates in a market, that theconsumer is assumed to make primarily rational consumption decisions, and theinteractions with consumers are standalone isolated events rather than an ongoingrelationship. These premises make the utility attributes the brand has to offerjudged against its price relative to competitors, level of awareness and recog-nition, and last but not least, the accessibility of the brand essential for whether ornot a brand will be successful.SummaryThe theoretical building blocks of the economic approach consist of twosupporting themes: transaction cost theory and the concept of the marketing mix.Transaction cost theory describes the barriers that can impede transactions takingplace according to the principles of the invisible hand and the economic man. Italso describes the economic perspective on exchange between brands andconsumers as isolated events, where money and goods are exchanged. Theprimary aim is to achieve the next transaction by eliminating or breaking down thebarriers that inhibit the transaction from taking place. These barriers to transac-tions must be overcome. The tool used in the economic approach to overcomethese barriers is the marketing mix, or the Four Ps. Using the toolbox of the FourPs can ensure that the right product is available to consumers at the right price, inthe right locations, and that it is promoted by using advertising and promotion tomake consumers aware of and interested in purchasing the product.The economic approach 39Supporting theme:Marketing MixSupporting theme:Transaction CostCore theme:The Economic BrandFigure 4.4 Core theme and supporting themes of the economic approach to brandmanagement

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Methods and data of the economic approachThe aim of data collection in the economic approach is to gather data that candeliver insights that can guide the marketer in defining the exact marketing mixthat will deliver optimal brand performance – and thereby maximize the numberof transactions. The methods used in the economic approach are predominantlyquantitative, and data are interpreted using largely analytical techniques frommicro-economics, where focus is on the causal effects marketing activities haveon demand.Since the Four Ps are rather operational and tactically focused, the methodsused in the economic approach are also very output and managerially oriented,emphasizing the replicability of data and results. It is important that the results canbe applied directly and used for decision making and problem solving in relationto the planning and execution of a marketing strategy. Creating mathematicalmodels that can measure and quantify data and thereby explain the phenomenon ofexchange between two entities is hence central. The mathematical models are keybecause the process of measurement is considered the only valid connectionbetween empirical observations and the expression or explanation of how theseempirical observations are linked.The overall objective of research and data collection in the economic approachis to investigate how manipulating one or more factors of the marketing mix willaffect consumers’ brand choice. It is hence the investigation of the causal effectsbetween two or more variables relating to the marketing mix that is primarilyresearched. It could for example be researched how sensitive consumers are topromotions, where the research focus could be investigating consumers’ responseTheoryAssumptionsMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 4.5 Theoretical building blocks of the economic approach40 Seven brand approaches

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to price reductions by exploring how promotions are reflected in the demand for aproduct. Or any other quantitative investigation of how different marketing mixvariables affect consumers’ brand behaviour.Data and analysis in the economic approachBecause methods are mainly quantitative in the economic approach, large quan-tities of data are preferred. The big data samples can be used to deduct correlationsbetween variables and are suitable because of the need for data and results to bereplicable; it is important to ensure that they are representative. The disadvantageis that it is difficult to gain a sound understanding of why variables are correlated,because the data are sampled broad instead of deep. As opposed to qualitativeresearch methods, where smaller samples deliver rich and descriptive conclusions,the results of quantitative research designs are often expressed in tables or otherstatistical representations of data.The economic approach rests upon a positivist research ideal. This line ofthought is very much in opposition to the stream of qualitative research methodsthat have become more and more dominant in marketing research in recentdecades. In the quantitative methods, objectiveness is important and phenomenaare presumed to be measurable. The objectivity of data is important for validity,and closeness to the subject of research is not essential. Data like scanner paneldata from cash registers at supermarkets and laboratory experiments areconsidered valid. The data are then subjected to different kinds of statisticalanalysis that often consist of some sort of regression analysis.The economic approach 41Box. 4.3 Regression analysisRegression analysis is a statistical tool for the investigation of relationshipsbetween variables. Any regression study sets out with a hypothesis that theinvestigator formulates, e.g. when a brand is on promotion (the price islower than usual) then the demand will increase. After having formulatedthe hypothesis the researcher assembles data on the variables of interest –data on price levels over time and data of demand levels over time. The dataare then subjected to regression analysis that estimates the quantitativeeffect or correlation between the variables. Hereby it is possible to ascertainthe causal effect of one variable upon another; hence how a price cut in theshape of a promotion affects sales. The illustration reflects the correlationbetween how price promotions affect demand (the x axis reflecting the priceand the y axis illustrating the fluctuations in demand). It is clear thatwhenever the product has been on promotion – sold at a reduced price – thedemand for the product is higher.Once a correlation between two variables has been established the statis-tical significance of the estimated relationships can be seen. In figure 4.6 the

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To accommodate the need for investigating different marketing mix variables thataffect different factors of consumer brand choice behaviour, like brand switchingor brand market shares, customized regression models are often developed to fitthe exact problem at hand.SummaryThe methods of the economic approach are mainly quantitative and focus onexploring how consumers’brand choice behaviour is affected by changes in one ormore factors of the marketing mix. The data used are very factual and measurablein statistical models. Data are often derived from scanner panel data or otherfactual, statistical data. The method of analysis mostly focuses on the constructionof mathematical regression models that can be used to measure the causal effects ofhow changing a variable in the marketing mix of a brand will affect consumer brandchoice behaviour. The replicability of results is important because results aremostly used for decision making and problem solving on a general basis in practice.Managerial implications: strengths and weaknessesIn the economic approach, the primary focus of the brand manager is to eliminatethe barriers to exchange and facilitate the next transaction. The marketing mix isconsidered to be the best toolkit for this transactional approach to brandmanagement. Brand managers hence in the economic approach have the Four Psrelation between price and demand is reflected: whenever the product orbrand is on promotion, it is reflected in the sales figures – the demand for thebrand is higher.42 Seven brand approachesFigure 4.6 Relation between price and demand

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at their disposal to create a strong brand and optimize brand performance. Becauseof the rather operational nature of the theoretical building blocks, this section willnot, as is the case in the other approach chapters, elaborate extensively on how tomanage the marketing mix variables, since the key issues have already beenexplained in the theoretical building blocks. Rather it will focus on the strengthsand weaknesses of using the economic approach as a basis of brand building. Itwill also summarize the main points of critique that the approach has been subjectto since its foundation and application in the context of brand management.As already mentioned the marketing mix approach has in many ways dominatedthe marketing environment and become an indisputable paradigm. The economicapproach and the transactional approach to brand management represent a pushapproach to the marketing of brands, where some of the newer approachesrepresent a more pull-oriented approach to brand strategy. The economic approachhas been subject to some critique since its foundation, but it is important to keep inmind that the economic approach is the foundation of how brand management hasevolved until today. Understanding the premises of the approach will enable thereader to critically evaluate how the approach is still relevant for some keyproblems in brand management while insufficient for others. The managerialbranding focus of the economic approach is, as mentioned, individual transactions,and branding is considered to be a management problem that can be solved throughmanagerial tasks of analysing, planning, and implementing marketing activitieswith the purpose of selling as many products as possible. In the research literatureand in management practice the tools of economic approach, e.g. the Four Ps andthe marketing mix and how it can affect consumers’ brand choice behaviour, arestill widely researched. From an operational viewpoint the marketing mix toolboxTheoryMethods and dataAssumptionsManagerial implicationsFigure 4.7 Methods and data of the economic approachThe economic approach 43

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is still relevant and beneficial for the brand manager to know about – especially ifhe or she is aware of its strengths and limitations.In practice, managing a brand according to the theory of the marketing mixmeans that companies believe that by manipulating a series of interrelatedmarketing decisions the marketing manager can target and position productswithin a defined market segment which will respond in a planned and desirablemanner – the consumer reacts to the marketing mix and does not engage in anyinteraction with the company as such. Hence as a planning and execution tool themarketing mix is indeed considered to be appropriate.the marketing process consist of analysing market opportunities, researchingand selecting target markets, designing marketing programs, and organising,implementing, and controlling the marketing effort … [and] to transformmarketing strategy into marketing programs marketing managers must makebasic decisions on marketing expenditure, marketing mix, and marketingallocation.(Kotler 1997 p. 86–7)The down side is, however, that using the marketing mix as the primary marketingtool to manage brands can result in a rather short-term focus because of theextensive emphasis on the next transaction. The marketer is concerned with‘hooking new clients’ and sales figures, and the exchange between the brand andthe consumer is reduced to the isolated transaction. The brand-building qualitiesare, however, difficult to catch sight of, especially from the field of servicebranding, the critique of this perception of transactions as isolated events has beenharsh. In service marketing it is clear that other rules of the game apply – inter-action with the consumer is perceived as an ongoing relationship rather thanisolated transactions and individual exchanges.The other main critique stems from the origin of the theoretical models ofexchange the approach builds on. The exchange model the marketing mix line ofthought draws on has its origin in micro-economics. The model of exchange frommicro-economics is a purely theoretical model, which means that the assumptionsand key models are the result of theorizing rather than empirical research. Hence,since the models and theories are based on theorizing rather than empirical data,the economic approach has been criticized for not portraying the world ofconsumption adequately. Especially, how the approach deals with or rather doesnot deal with the consumer has been the primary focus of critique. In the realworld, consumers do not have perfect information on the market place, and theirknowledge about different alternatives is fragmented. Furthermore, individualpreferences often violate utility theory – different people have different prefer-ences, which cannot be explained by theories of maximization – and these consid-erations are not incorporated in the theoretical apparatus of the economicapproach. Hence, the very nature of the Four Ps as manageable, controllablefactors combined with the intrinsic lack of market input in the model is in contrastwith the ideals of the principles of market orientation implying that all marketing44 Seven brand approaches

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activities should be based on the identification of consumer needs and wantswhich are very much in line with the widely accepted brand management theory.The thoughts behind the economic approach serve as the foundation for brandmanagement and from here the discipline develops into still more complicatedtheories of consumer behaviour and brand consumption. One can say that thefollowing approaches all accommodate the shortcomings of the economicapproach as they each explain a specific brand and consumption perspective notaccounted for in the economic approach.SummaryThe value of the tools of the economic approach for the planning and implemen-tation of marketing plans short-term are, however, great and a prerequisite inbrand management, but the strategic value and potential for brand building of themarketing mix tools is questionable. The economic approach is hence a suitableplanning and execution tool in brand management, but it cannot stand alone, if onewishes to reap the full potential of brands and brand management reflecting howconsumers in the new millennium consume brands.Student questions1 What theories are the theoretical building blocks based on?2 How is the consumer perceived to consume brands in the economic approach?3 Which elements are key for the creation of brand equity in the economicapproach?4 What are the strengths and weaknesses of the marketing mix?5 What methods are primarily used to explore the brand in the economicapproach?6 Why is the economic approach perceived not to deliver sufficient theoreticaltool for the management of brands today?References and further readingKey readings are in bold type.Ackerman, F. (1997) ‘Consumed in theory: alternative perspectives on economics ofconsumption’, Journal of Economic Issues, 31 (3): 651–64Ailawadi, K. L., Lehman, D. R. and Neslin, S. A., ‘Marketing response to major policychange in the marketing mix: learning from Procter & Gamble’s value pricing strategy’,Journal of Marketing, 65 (1): 44–61Bath, S. and Reddy, S. K. (1998) ‘Symbolic and functional positioning of brands’, Journalof Consumer Marketing, 15 (1): 32–43Borden, N. (1964) ‘The concept of the marketing mix’, in G. Schwartz (ed.) Science inMarketing, New York: WileyBucklin, R. E., Gupta, S. and Han, S. (1995) ‘A brand’s eye view of response segmentationin consumer brand choice behavior’, Journal of Marketing Research, February 66–74The economic approach 45

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5 The identity approachwith a commentary by Professor Majken Schultz, Copenhagen Business School,and Professor Emerita Mary Jo Hatch, University of VirginiaLearning objectivesThe purpose of this chapter is to:Understand the assumptions of the identity approach• The brand should express one unified and coherent identity, internallyas well as externally, by using the visual and behavioural identity of thecorporation to build the brandUnderstand the theoretical building blocks of the identity approach• The four supporting themes of brand identity: corporate identity, orga-nizational identity, image and reputation• The two frameworks: the corporate brand tool kit and theAC2ID modelare useful for the alignment of corporate identity, organizationalidentity, image and reputation to create a coherent brand identityProvide insights into the methods of the identity approach• In the identity approach a mix of methods is used. Internally, focus is oncorporate identity (visual and strategic) and organizational identity(behaviour and culture) rooted in ethnographic and anthropologicalmethods. Externally, the element’s image and reputation combinemethods stemming from cognitive and social psychologyUnderstand the managerial implications• Understand the complexity of managing brand identity by ensuringalignment of corporate identity, organizational identity, image andreputation

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In 1907, AEG appointed Peter Behrens to be what at the time was called ‘ArtisticConsultant’. His job turned out to be the first corporate engagement in theconscious management of identity. Peter Behrens’s philosophy was simple – theproducts, design and communication should express one unified identity. Toaccomplish this, he created products, logos, advertising material and companypublications with a consistent, unified design. This unified design and visualexpression of identity make Peter Behrens and AEG the founders of the rationalebehind the identity concept and corporate identity management programmes inpractice. Identity programmes have since been an integral part of marketing.In the late 1980s and early 1990s, this line of thought began to take shape in thecontext of brand management, laying the ground for the identity approach. Abratt(1989) elaborated on the conceptual development of the approach by adding an in-depth study of the dimensions that link the interior processes (corporate identity)with the exterior-focused activities (corporate image). A new stream of researchhas, especially in a European context, during the 1990s led to a conceptualizationof brand identity, where the interplay between corporate identity, organizationalidentity, image and reputation provides the elements for brand identity.In brand management, the identity construct has grown increasingly popular,because it is a powerful and complex concept with the potential of strengtheningcompetitive power significantly. Most companies today build and manage identityto ensure that the brand identity expresses an exact set of values, capabilities andunique sales propositions.Unlike several of the other brand management approaches described in thisbook, the conceptualization and evolution of the identity approach in brandmanagement is primarily practitioner-led. This means that the core definitionsand conceptualization of the identity approach are not the result of a singlecomprehensive breakthrough study (as is the case in the consumer-based, thepersonality, the relational and the community approaches), but rather based onpractical experience from the use of the identity concept as a management tool.There are, however, many influential articles and books worth mentioning inrelation to the identity approach. We will refrain from listing the completeselection but mention two collections that in particular have set the scene in therecent perspectives on brand identity. The Expressive Organization by Schultz etal. (2000) is a selection of articles exploring the identity domain from multipleacademic fields, with the aim of discussing the relational differences betweenidentity, image and culture in organizations with the aim of clarifying and articu-lating the theoretical domain of identity (Schultz et al. 2000). Revealing theCorporation: Perspectives on Identity, Image, Reputation, Corporate Branding,and Corporate-level Marketing (Balmer and Greyser 2003) is another importantcollection guiding the reader through influential classics and contemporaryacademic articles shedding light on different perspectives on identity, image,reputation and corporate branding.This chapter offers an overview of the essence of the identity approach, byproviding insights into the assumptions, theoretical elements and methodologiesunderlying the identity approach. Finally, the chapter describes and discusses the48 Seven brand approaches

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managerial guidelines that can be accumulated from the most prominent researchpublications and key non-research literature, supplemented with illustrative casesof how companies have dealt with the management of brand identity in practice.Assumptions of the identity approachThe economic approach assumes that attributes related to the Four Ps of marketing(product, price, placement and promotion) are the main mechanisms behind thecreation and management of brand equity.The identity approach brings into focus the creation of a unified, visual andbehavioural identity. It is assumed that consumers attribute identity characteristicsto companies and that people form images of companies based on the total expe-rience of the company. This places the corporation and its employees at the centreof brand equity creation. The identity approach hence adds the importance of theidentity of the corporate branding to the theoretical domain of brand management.The corporate identity perspectiveAs mentioned in the introduction, the identity concept has a long history from thefield of marketing (both in research and in practice) and many of the concepts usedand studied in marketing have been applied to the use of the identity concept inbrand management. The identity approach is hence multidimensional and draws ona selection of very diverse academic fields such as graphic design and strategicmanagement, organizational culture studies and organizational behaviour. Beforeseeking a proper understanding of the assumptions underlying the identityapproach it is therefore necessary to know how the identity concept has been playedout in the field of marketing prior to its adaptation to a brand management context.Box 5.1 The identity concept adopted from marketingThere were two main streams of practical use of and research in the identityconcept in marketing before it became important in a brand managementcontext. One focused on visual identity while the other focused on behav-ioural identity. These two concepts and their conceptualization in marketingwill be explained here:Brand identity ConsumerCorporationFigure 5.1 Sources of brand identity. The corporation is pivotal for the creation of brandequity in the identity approach

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In a brand management context, the key assumption of the identity approach isthat all marketing and communication activities should be integrated, aligned andelevated from a product-focused and tactical level to a strategic, corporate level.Only in that way will it be possible to create a coherent company experience forthe consumer. It is from that assumption that the idea of corporate branding andintegrated market communication stems. The notion of identity is applicable to theindividual brand level, but corporate branding plays a vital role in the identityapproach because alignment of all communication in one unified identity requiresstrategic-level brand management. Identity is something that is initiated frominside the company. Some of the questions corporations need to ask themselvesare in the identity approach. Who are we? What do we stand for? What do we wantto become? Brand value creation is hence dependent on finding the right answersto these questions and implementing them in every aspect of the business.From product to corporate brandingTraditionally, the general notion of the classic brand management system has beenthat each individual product must have an individual and distinct product brandVisual identityWally Olins is a brand identity pioneer. In his first big publication aboutcorporate brand identity, The Corporate Personality: An Inquiry into theNature of Corporate Identity (1978), he described the rationale of theidentity concept. Olins advocates the importance of identity for corporateentities and poses two questions that are still considered pivotal in theidentity approach today: What are we? and Who are we? Olins focuses onanswering these questions primarily through a visual expression of theessence of the identity. Still, he acknowledges that identity is not only aboutappearance but also about behaviour. Olins advocates that corporations usesystems of visual identification to build identity as a communicationvehicle. The communication should uphold a consistent visual expressionwhile still ensuring that the brand remains fashionable by undergoingcontinual adaptation to emergent changes.Behavioural identityKennedy laid the ground for the conceptualization of behavioural identity in1977. She hypothesized that consumers base consumption decisions ontheir perceptions of company personality to a much greater extent than onrational evaluation of attribute functionality. Consumer perception ofidentity is, according to Kennedy, based on the total experience of thecompany the consumer gets through all the contacts consumers have overtime with the brand/company. This line of thought adds the employees andtheir behaviour as a key factor when building identity.50 Seven brand approaches

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identity. However in the identity approach focus is often on a corporate as opposedto product level branding. The idea of corporate branding is the assumption thatcreating one unified (at corporate level) message across all functions will elevatebrand management from a tactical operational discipline involving only themarketing and sales department to a strategic, corporate level involving the wholeorganization. Creating one unified message across functions hence requires oneunified corporate identity.Corporate branding implies deserting product branding with its narrowmarketing-driven focus on tactical, functional processes. Product branding hasbeen criticized for having a too narrow, external perspective, detached from theorganization behind the products. Corporate branding is an attempt to accom-modate these weaknesses. Product branding is based on short-term advertisingideas, while corporate branding is based on a long-term brand idea. Corporatebranding also expands the parameters of differentiation by enabling companies touse their rich heritage actively to create strong brands. Corporate brandinginvolves the whole organization and emphasises the pivotal role employees play ifthey are to succeed in the creation of a strong corporate brand. Values and beliefsheld by employees are key elements in the differentiation strategy. Corporatebranding is a ‘move towards conceiving more integrated relationships betweeninternal and external stakeholders linking top management, employees, customersand other stakeholders’ (Schultz et al. 2005, p. 24).Table 5.1 Product and corporate brandingProduct branding Corporate brandingFoundation Individual products The company/organizationConceptualization Marketing, outside–in Cross-disciplinary, combinesthinking inside–out and outside–inthinkingBrand receivers Consumers All stakeholdersCore processes Marketing and Managerial andcommunication organizational processesDifficulties • Create and sustain • Alignment of internal anddifferentiation external stakeholders• Involvement of • Create and communicateemployees and use of credible and authenticorganizational cultural identityheritage • Involvement of multiple• Limited involvement subcultures internally, andof stakeholders other multiple stakeholdersthan consumers externallyBrand equity comes from Superior product attributes, The visual and behaviouralgood advertising identity of the corporationand communicationSource Schultz et al. (2005), by courtesy of Copenhagen Business School Press.The identity approach 51

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This is why organizational and managerial processes are in focus in corporatebranding: only in that way can the distinctive identity of the corporate brand bereflected in and nurtured by the way the organization works. Strategy making incorporate branding should take a multidisciplinary approach because it involvesnot only marketing, but multiple functions and departments.Alignments between the origin and everyday practices of the organization[organizational culture]; where the organization aspires to go [strategicvision]; how the organization is perceived by external stakeholders [images];all nested in perceptions of who the organization is [identity].(Schultz et al. 2005, p. 24)Corporate branding focuses on developing distinctive features of the organizationthrough organizational and managerial processes. Breaking down the silosbetween marketing (externally focused) and organizational development (inter-nally focused) and using internal organizational resources to build brand identity,image, reputation and corporate branding have increasingly become an integralpart of brand management, and practitioners ascribe corporate culture as one ofthe most important aspects when conceptualizing the domain of identity. The caseof how Lego has shifted from a focus on product branding to corporate branding isa good example of how this shift can be done in practice.The ‘brand–consumer’ exchangeIn the identity approach, a reliable image and reputation are assumed to be keydeterminants of consumers’ brand choice. In the other six brand approaches, the52 Seven brand approachesBox 5.2 From product to corporate branding at LegoIn the mid-1990s Lego – the fourth biggest producer of toys in the world –was caught in a general decline in the toy market. For most people Lego issynonymous with the Lego brick, which was also the focus internally. Theproduct focus was perceived as an impediment to growth. Lego had toreinvent the company by implementing a shift from product branding tocorporate branding. The identity (internally) and image (externally) of Legounderwent analysis. It was found that the image of Lego was indeed strongamong many stakeholders as a producer of toys enhancing creativity andlearning. The strategic vision of the company had to be aligned with thisimage. Management moved away from defining themselves as producers ofLego bricks to defining themselves as leaders in the business of creativityand learning.Adapted from ‘Are the strategic stars aligned for yourcorporate brand’ (Hatch and Schultz 2001) and‘Brand culture’ (Schroeder and Salzer-Mörling 2006)

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brand–consumer exchange is key. In the identity approach, brand–consumerexchange is expanded to a focus on all potential stakeholders, and not only inter-action with consumers. This broader focus and altered perception of who thereceivers of brand communications are can be explained with the emphasis ontrust and reputation characterizing the identity approach.There have been countless discussions of the extent to which communicationbetween brand and receiver (here all stakeholders) is linear or the result of adialogue. The reason for these discussions is that scholars and practitionersinvolved in the field of brand identity often come from different academic back-grounds. We will run through the different points of view in order to clarify theassumptions of the brand–stakeholder exchange.• The exchange between brand and stakeholder from a visual and strategicpoint of view (corporate identity) derives its mindset from marketing,graphic design and strategic management. The concept of corporate identityfocuses on the creation of a coherent visual identity. The key determinant ofsuccess is the ability to control all communication, with the aim of creatingan enduring, distinctive and stable brand identity that is communicatedlinearly to all stakeholders.• Research into the more behavioural aspects of brand identity (organizationalidentity) has its origin in academic disciplines like sociology, anthropologyand organization studies.1The concept of organizational identity focuses onhow behaviour affects brand identity. Identity is believed to be context-dependent and both socially and individually created – hence a socialconstructivist view of identity, where it is assumed that identity is the result ofa co-creation between brand and stakeholder.• Image is defined as the mosaic of brand associations held by stakeholders,hence implying the stakeholder perspective of the exchange. Here thecommunication may be linear, but stakeholders’ reactions are perceived to bea central element in the formation and management of identity.• Reputation is a more long-term gathering of impressions and evaluations ofimage stored in the long-term memory of consumers and stakeholders.Reputation focuses more on relation building than linear communication.In recent research of brand identity a multidimensional approach has been adoptedwhere the four perspectives mentioned above are combined. The construction ofthe brand in the identity approach is hence, in its original form, assumed to belinear, but a social constructionist perspective where a more interaction-basedperspective is dominant has come to take up more and more space in the identityapproach in the recent years.In that sense, brand identity has evolved from a rather static, narrow conceptfocusing on graphic design to a more dynamic, complex and social constructivist viewof identity. If identity is context-dependent and socially constructed, it follows that thelinear communication process assumed to characterize the ‘brand–stakeholderexchange’ is also challenged, because the social construction of identity implies thatThe identity approach 53

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identity is not something that can be formed inside a company and then sent toconsumers, who perceive the message exactly as it was intended. In the dynamic viewof identity it is perceived that identity is something that is co-created because it isformed both internally (by the company) and externally (by the consumer). This co-creation of identity resulted during the 1990s in a new area of research, namely theresearch on how to ensure alignment between the internal corporate identity and orga-nizational identity and the external expressions of brand identity image and repu-tation: ‘To get the most out of corporate brand strategy, three essential elements mustbe aligned: vision, culture, and image. Aligning these strategic stars takes concen-trated management skill and will. Each element is driven by a different constituency’(Hatch and Schultz 2001, p. 131).SummaryThe identity approach assumes that a strong and coherent brand identity is pivotalfor brand value creation. The brand must focus on finding out ‘who we are’ as anorganization in order to facilitate expressing one coherent identity to all stake-holders. Creating this coherent identity often has a corporate rather than aproduct-level focus and attention has shifted from a focus on the visual represen-tation of product brands to a focus on how organizational behaviour affectsidentity, and ultimately image and reputation. The perception of the consumer inthe identity approach has also evolved. In the earlier days of the identity approachit was believed that brand identity could be managed and controlled entirely bythe corporation; the exchange between the brand and the consumer was perceivedto be linear. Recent developments have broadened that perception, it has beenacknowledged that identity is not enduring but context-dependent, which implies54 Seven brand approachesBox 5.3 Is identity enduring?The three characteristics of identity were defined by Albert and Wetten in1985 as:• Central character. It should capture the essence of the organization.• Claimed distinctiveness. Distinguish the organization from others.• Temporal continuity. It will exhibit continuity over time (enduring).These three characteristics went unchallenged for a long time until Gioia etal. in 2000 challenged that an identity should be enduring and stable. Theyargued that an identity is relatively fluid and not stable. It is this fluidityand flexibility of the identity that is the strength of many organizations,because it enables them to accommodate rapid environmental changes(Gioia et al. 2000). This new perception of identity as being context-dependent and socially constructed introduces a new and more dynamicperspective on identity.

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that identity cannot be communicated linearly but is the result of negotiationbetween internal and external shareholders.Theoretical building blocks of the identity approachThe key constructs of the identity approach have changed and broadened alongwith the shift in focus from product to corporate branding. The ever-continuousevolution of the conceptualization of brand identity has led to a considerablevolume of concepts and frameworks of a multidisciplinary nature. Concepts areoften used interchangeably and it can be difficult to gain a clear overview of thekey constructs, how they relate to each other and, how they can be combined inmanagerial frameworks.The core theme of the identity approach is brand identity. Brand identity ismade up of four components: organizational identity, corporate identity, imageand reputation. The four supporting themes can be divided into two main cate-gories: the internal and the external elements of brand identity. Corporate identityand organizational identity are supporting themes representing theories used forthe creation and maintenance and research of brand identity internally. The twosupporting themes, image and reputation, represent theories used to build, manageand research brand identity externally.Having explained the nature of the four supporting themes and the coretheme, we will turn to two frameworks focusing on the alignment of the foursupporting themes in a way that strengthens the core theme of brand identity.The corporate brand tool kit and the AC2ID framework take the understandingAssumptionsTheoryMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 5.2 Assumptions of the identity approachThe identity approach 55

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of the theoretical building blocks further by suggesting how a corporate brandshould be managed.Supporting theme: corporate identity (internal)The first internal supporting theme of brand identity is corporate identity.Corporate identity is an assembly of visual, physical or behavioural cues repre-senting the company, making it immediately recognizable to consumers and otherstakeholders. The academic literature forms two clusters representing twoperspectives on how to create and manage corporate identity: a visual perspectiveusing visual means to build brand identity and a strategic perspective focused onthe strategic vision of the brand.The visual identity is mainly concerned with the way the organization expressesitself visually and should ideally be outward signs and symbols of the inwardcommitment of the organization. The visual school focuses on tangible visual mani-festations of the corporate identity and on how these manifestations can affect lead-ership behaviour and company structure and vice versa. This perspective has itsorigin in graphic design, where focus is on the creation and management of logo, thename, colour, sound, touch and smell of brand identity that ensures optimumreflection of brand identity. From the visual school’s perspective, corporate identitycan be aligned through graphic design, by using systems of visual identification.These systems are useful because they can act as catalysts for change, vehicles ofcommunication, and tools to ensure that the visual expression of brand identity is upto date. Recognition is in this perspective important because it breeds favourability.The visual school has often been criticized for being too narrowly conceived andmisunderstood in practice because of too much focus on the design, name and logo.Corporate identity is, however, also about merging behaviour and the visual identity;it is only when behaviour and appearance are linked that corporate identity emerges.Core theme:Brand identityExternal elementsInternal elementsSupporting theme:ReputationSupporting theme:ImageSupporting theme:OrganizationalIdentitySupporting theme:CorporateIdentityFigure 5.3 Supporting themes of the identity approach56 Seven brand approaches

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The fact of the matter is that when an organization has a clear idea about itself,what its business is, what its priorities are, how it wants to conduct itself, howit wants to be perceived, its identity falls fairly easily in place.(Olins 1979, p. 60)The visual expression of brand identity becomes much easier if identity is alsoembedded in a common corporate behavioural standard. Signs and symbols ofidentity are merely myths, but they can become reality if they also act as catalystsfor change. They need to act as symbols both internally and externally of thecorporate identity of the organization. Hence corporate identity can not beconfined merely to the visual expression, it is also the way people who work in anorganization think, behave and work. The focus is still to ensure the rightexpression outwards as opposed to the organizational identity, where the goal andfocus are to ensure the right behaviour, culture and expression inward.The strategic school focuses on the central idea of the organization (mission,vision and philosophy). The strategic school links the corporate strategy with brandidentity; how it can be expressed and communicated to ensure that it is reflected inthe corporate image and reputation. The strategic school of corporate identityfocuses on defining internal aspects of the corporate identity: who they are; what thecore competences are; and how these can be utilized to ensure the right expression ofbrand identity externally. The strategic school of corporate identity emphasizes thatbehaviour to a greater extent than appearance determines corporate identity.Corporate identity hence contributes to brand identity in two ways. First, itensures that input from strategic management – the vision and mission the corpo-ration has for the brand – is implemented in the creation and management of brandidentity. Second, it ensures that the brand identity is represented visually throughmanagement of product design, logo name and so on, encompassing all visualrepresentations of brand identity. Recently the acknowledgement of the impor-tance of behaviour has been underpinned by research pointing out how difficult itcan be to translate managerial and strategic vision into brand identity. To ensurethat this process is done accurately, deep insight into organizational behaviour andculture is needed. This is hence the next supporting theme of the identity approach.Supporting theme: organizational identity (internal)The second supporting theme of brand identity is organizational identity: it refersto the behavioural and cultural aspects affecting brand identity. Key concepts areorganizational behaviour, culture and structure; these are all elements affectinghow organizational members perceive who they are and what they stand for as acompany or organization. The organizational identity provides a cognitive andemotional foundation on which organizational members build attachment. It alsosets the scene for how employees create meaningful relationships with theirorganization. Organizational culture is closely linked to employee commitmentand performance, which is why organizational identity is so pivotal forconsumers’ evaluation of brand identity.The identity approach 57

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As mentioned previously, this line of thought originates from the idea that peoplebase their evaluations of brand identity (the brand image) on their total experienceof a company. This notion makes employees the pivotal instrument for brandmanagement. The ability of employees to deliver the content and promise of thebrand in the long run creates corporate image and reputation.The ‘living the brand’ construct is often used in this perspective. The conceptdescribes how organizational members can become so attached to the brand that itbecomes an important part of the creation and enhancement of brand equity.Employees are expected to ‘live the brand’, acting as brand ambassadors and co-creators of brand equity. The brand is brought to life in the interaction betweenconsumer and employee, demanding a high level of commitment to the brandfrom the employee. In an ideal world, organizational culture is altered and nursedby embedding certain values in the culture and behaviour using tools such asstorytelling, internal training and employee branding. This process alignsemployee behaviour with the brand vision and brand identity. Since employeesincreasingly demand empowerment and a meaningful workplace, and companiesdemand committed employees, this approach seems like a win–win situation forboth employees and companies. But in reality it is often different; the proveneffect of internal employee branding (the storytelling and value-basedmanagement tools used to alter organizational culture) is questionable. Severalstudies conclude that the majority of employees do not really buy in on internalbranding efforts long term. Once activities have died down, resistance to changeand old routines win the battle. Hence, managing brand identity through thecreation and enhancement of organizational identity is not an easy task, but if it isdone with success, the result can be an unbeatably strong and unique brandidentity. The methods of how to go about creating an organizational culture as abrand manager and some of the problems and how to overcome them are furtherexplained in ‘methods’ (p. 64) and ‘managerial implications’ (p. 70).Box 5.4 Culture in the identity approachIn the identity approach, culture is defined at micro-level (while the culturalapproach highlights branding in the context of macro-level culture). In themicro-level culture definition of the identity approach, organizationalculture is to be understood as a concept that provides a local context orframe for the organizational identity. The organizational culturefurthermore contributes with symbolic material to the construction ofcorporate identity. Culture is regarded as the expression of everyday life inan organization – the values (the ‘taken-for-granted assumptions’), thebehaviour (‘the way we do things around here’) and the formal internal andexternal communication as well as the more informal communication ofinternal organizational stories.Source Hatch and Schultz (2000)58 Seven brand approaches

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Supporting theme: corporate image (external)Images are the basic element of thought, and the concept of corporate image is keyin the identity approach, since it is part of the external representation of the brandidentity. The aim is to project one single image to all stakeholders, ensuring aconsistent perception of brand image among stakeholders. Corporate image is amosaic of impressions formed by a variety of formal and informal signalsprojected by the company. From this mosaic the recipient pieces together thecorporate image. The corporate image is hence not what the company believes it tobe, but exists in the mind of the audience. Corporate image is the result of a mosaicof attitudes commencing within the company with the employees and theirperception of the company. Continuously measuring the corporate image is animportant source of keeping track of how consumers and other stakeholdersperceive and value brand identity.Supporting theme: reputation (external)Some scholars argue that the research and literature about reputation can be cate-gorized as one of the schools of thought about how to create and manage thecorporate image. We define the concept of reputation in a category by itself,because the mechanisms applying to this field are quite different from the mecha-nisms that apply to the concept of image.During the 1990s the concept of reputation gained popularity particularly inpractice.As opposed to the image concept it takes a long time to form a reputation,because it is based on what the company has done over time and how it hasbehaved, rather than being a result of short-term communication and advertisingas is the case for the formation of image. The corporate reputation construct ismainly used externally to measure consumer evaluations of brand identity, but canalso be used internally to guide employee behaviour. Corporate reputation can alsoreveal the standards that govern organizational behaviour. So how does a companyensure a good reputation? Too often it does not – because reputation managementis often not considered unless the reputation is threatened.The key drivers of reputation are PR and the communication and accentuationof corporate stories of success and corporate social responsibility. Reputation canbe enhanced through corporate communication, but is more effective whencommunicated by an independent third party. This is one of the reasons whyincreasingly higher percentages of company expenditure are invested in thebuilding of PR and good relations with key players in the media. PR can be esti-mated by analysing the brand’s position in the market place measured by compet-itive effectiveness and market leadership.Core theme: brand identityAn in-depth understanding of the four supporting themes adds up to the coretheoretical concept of the identity approach; namely brand identity. ByThe identity approach 59

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combining all components in figure 5.4 you will have a clear picture of thecomponents of brand identity.After having gained a sound understanding of the elements that comprise thebrand identity construct, the next section will elaborate on how these elements, ininterplay, can be managed to construct and enhance brand identity. ‘Alignment’ isthe key word if the management of all four elements is to result in a unifiedcommunication of a coherent brand identity to all shareholders.Aligning brand identityThis section will explain how the elements of brand identity (corporate identity, orga-nizational identity, image and reputation) in interplay form brand identity throughproper alignment. It offers an introduction to two key theoretical frameworks used tomanage and align the elements influencing brand identity. The two frameworksselected and described here have been chosen because they express the key concernthat most recent frameworks for the management of brand identity have in common,External elementsInternal elementsSupporting theme:ReputationSupporting theme:ImageSupporting theme:OrganizationalIdentitySupporting theme:CorporateIdentityCore theme:Brand IdentityFigure 5.4 Brand identity: the core theme and alignment frameworks of the identityapproachTable 5.2 The internal and external supporting themes adding up to brand identityInternal Corporate Identity Organizational Identity• Visual expression of brand identity • Behavioural aspects of brand identity• Strategic vision of brand identity • Organizational culture• Top management • EmployeesExternal Image Reputation• Short-term • Long-term evaluation of brand• Mosaic of stakeholder associations identity• Exists entirely in the minds of • Stakeholder evaluations of brandstakeholders actions• Key tools: PR and personal relations60 Seven brand approaches

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namely the alignment of identity, culture, image and reputation. This alignment is thepivotal task in the brand identity management process. The corporate brand toolkitdeveloped by Hatch and Schultz is based on research in more than 100 companiesover more than ten years. The toolkit was published in Harvard Business Review in2001. Balmer (Balmer and Greyser 2003) developed another influential framework,the AC2ID framework. Like the corporate brand toolkit, it focuses on the identitytypes present in a company and how these identity types should be managed in orderto ensure alignment. The AC2ID framework is based on extensive research in thecorporate industry field, but has also incorporated recent trends from the academicliterature. It was first published in California Management Review in 2002.The corporate brand toolkitThe corporate brand toolkit identifies strategic vision, organizational culture andstakeholders’ images as the strategic stars of the organization.• Strategic vision: central idea behind what the company does. The strategicvision expresses future management aspirations.• Organizational culture: internal values and beliefs. Basic assumptions thatembody the heritage of the company, manifested in the ways employees feelabout the company across rank, reflected in behaviour.• Stakeholders’ images: how external stakeholders perceive the company, inother words, it is the outside world’s overall impression of the company.The alignment of these stars is the means to the creation of a strong and successfulcorporate brand identity. These elements are comparable to the four supportingthemes: strategic vision equals corporate identity, organizational culture and orga-nizational identity share common perspective, and stakeholder images are equiv-alent to the two external supporting themes, image and reputation.The alignment of the three strategic stars requires that attention be paid to allthree elements simultaneously. Misalignments can be detected by a series of diag-nostic questions to all stakeholders internally as well as externally, uncovering therelationship between the three elements and potential gaps.The aim with this series of questions is to uncover gaps between either of theelements, represented by, respectively, employees, management and externalstakeholders. It is a way to see whether if the strategic vision of top management isin line with consumer demands and if there is sufficient internal employee supportfor the strategic vision. Analysis of identity gaps should ideally be conductedconcurrently to ensure ongoing alignment of the strategic elements that are key tothe creation of brand identity. After having identified any identity gaps, it isessential that the information gathered is used to make an action plan for howvision and image can undergo a process of realignment. If the problem ismisalignment between vision and organizational culture, then the consequencescould be a brand identity promising too much compared with what employees areprepared or able to deliver. This type of misalignment problem requires that eitherThe identity approach 61

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• Ideal: represents the optimum positioning of the organization in the market atany given time.• Desired: lives in the hearts and minds of the corporate leaders – equivalent ofthe strategic vision.In the AC2ID framework the four supporting themes are also reflected in the fiveidentity types since the desired and communicated identity cover the same topicsas the supporting theme of corporate identity. The actual identity and the organiza-tional identity are comparable and the conceived identity and ideal identity coverthe external elements equivalent to the supporting themes of image and reputation.Management should on a continuous basis ensure that these identities are aligned,meanwhile also updating the ideal and desired identity according to changes anddevelopments in the business environment. Overlooking or not monitoring themultiple identities of a brand can have fatal consequences. The AC2ID frameworkcan assist top management in the research and management of multiple identitiesand guide the company through identity changes and realignment processes ofbrand identity. Especially in situations where identity is challenged (e.g. mergersor acquisitions) brand identity management is crucial.SummaryThe theoretical building blocks of brand identity consist of the four supportingthemes behind the core concept of brand identity. Two of these cover internalaspects: corporate identity, representing the visual and strategic elements of brandThe identity approach 63Box 5.5 Misaligned identities: the case of Body ShopThe founder of the Body Shop, Anita Roddick, from the beginning ran theBody Shop according to her environmental and socially responsible values.Her personal values (desired identity) had a significant influence on thepositioning and branding of the Body Shop as a socially responsiblecompany against animal testing, etc. An investigation of whether the actualpractices of the corporation could live up to these values led to accusationsthat it did not live up to its own standards. This is clearly a case ofmisalignment of the desired identity in relation to the actual identity. Mediaattention led to consumer suspicion, with the result that the conceivedidentity also became misaligned with the desired identity. The misalignmentof identities in the case of Body Shop is a good example of what oftenhappens when small companies grow fast, and the growing distancebetween the ideals and dreams of the founder and the actual behaviour isinevitable if well managed brand identity-building activities are not in placeto make up for this lack of presence in every day procedure by the founder.Adapted from ‘Multiple identities of the corporation’(Balmer and Greyser 2003)

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identity, and organizational identity, representing the behavioural and culturalaspects. The two supporting themes covering the external aspects are: image andreputation. Image is the short-term mosaic of images perceived by the consumer.The reputation is a long-term compilation of all image evaluations of brandidentity made by the consumer. These four supporting themes each contribute tothe brand identity construct. Pivotal in the recent theoretical frameworks for themanagement of brand identity is the alignment of the multiple identities of thecorporation. Two key frameworks are the corporate brand toolkit focusing on thealignment between vision/organizational culture and image. The AC2IDframework works with the alignment of actual, communicated, conceived, idealand desired identity.Methods and data of the identity approachThe methods and data used in the identity approach are diverse and have their originin different research traditions, due to the different focus (internal and external) andorigins of the four supporting themes of the brand identity construct. The methodsused to collect data about organizational identity stem from anthropological andculture studies, while the study of corporate identity has a more heuristic approachderiving material from strategic management, the visual expression and history ofthe corporation. Researching the image element of brand identity requires insightsinto the cognitive processes that consumers and stakeholders go through when eval-uating a brand identity and requires methods from cognitive psychology. Finally, thereputation element requires more focus on the long-term interaction between thebrand and the consumer or stakeholder. In the attempt to make the overview of theseTheoryAssumptionsMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 5.6 Theory of the identity approach64 Seven brand approaches

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diverse methods more comprehensible, the section is divided into two main parts.The first part accounts for the methods and data used when researching corporateidentity and organizational identity. The second part offers an overview of themethods and data used to research image and reputation.The internal elements of brand identity: methods for the study of corporateidentity and organizational identityHow to uncover corporate identityCorporate identity is an expression of the strategic aspirations top managementhas for the brand in the shape of, for instance, a strategic vision for the brand or thecorporation as a whole. The corporate identity also refers to the visual identity ofthe brand. The methods for gathering data about the two differ:• When uncovering the strategic perspective on corporate identity, it is mainlyhistorical sources about the development of the vision and strategy of thecompany and brand specific historical records that are used to get anoverview of the corporate identity and its development. Semi-structuredinterviews, storytelling methods and heuristic analysis are the more specificmethods used as a supplement to the more formal records of how the strategicvision has developed over time.• Data about how the visual expression of the corporate identity has evolved overtime must also be researched when uncovering corporate identity.After having uncovered these two sources of visual and strategic identity repre-senting the more formal aspects of identity expressed by the company, the behav-ioural and cultural aspects of identity must also be uncovered.How to uncover organizational identityResearch into organizational identity (organizational culture and behaviour) draws onmethods from various research traditions, such as anthropology, sociology, culturaland organizational studies. In the academic milieu there has been a fierce discussionabout how organizational culture ought to be perceived and studied. However, duringthe last decade methods using a multi-paradigm approach, combining the differentviews and starting points, have emerged. High-performing brands often share thecharacteristic that they use organizational culture as a tool to nurture high employeecommitment and loyalty. A strong organizational culture is consistent over time andvalues and norms guide action and language. There are several sources of a strongorganizational identity: the style of top management, everyday organizationalbehaviour, and embedded norms and values. How these elements contribute to orga-nizational identity is the subject of analysis when uncovering organizational culture.The basic perception of organizational identity has evolved from a static andfunctionalistic view to a more dynamic constructivist one. In the functionalistThe identity approach 65

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view, understanding culture is about identifying and categorizing cultural stereo-types. From a symbolic and interpretive approach, culture is embedded in andexpressed through people’s actions and language. Finally, in the constructivistview of culture, the strength of organizational culture is defined by its ability toadapt to changes in the environment. In this view the strength of an organizationalculture is found in its ability to learn, change and adapt to market demands. Thisevolution is reflected in the recent multi-paradigm methods of studying organiza-tional culture. One of the key frameworks for the study of organizational cultureoffers a three-perspective approach. The three perspectives reflect the inherentambiguity and forces of organizational culture.The integration perspective represents the functionalist perspective and theforces in the organization oriented towards consensus and consistency. This66 Seven brand approachesTable 5.3 Three perspectives on organizational cultureCharacteristics Integration Differentiation FragmentationLevel of consensus Organization-wide Subcultural Consensus appearsconsensus consensus only temporarily inclustersConsistency of Consistent Inconsistent ComplexculturalmanifestationsHow ambiguity is Ambiguity is Ambiguity between Ambiguity ratherperceived excluded and subcultures is than consensus isavoided acknowledged assumedThe primary Founder or top Groups of Individualscreators of culture management subculturesWhere to look for The formal culture The different levels Culture exists at anorganizational dispersed by top of culture are played individual levelculture management out in differentfunctions or othergroupings: a mix offormal and informalcultureHow to uncover Join all meetings Get in deep with It is by getting toorganizational and go through all every function/ know the individualculture internal department or employee thatcommunication and subculture to learn culture can beformal activities for how they are diverse uncovered becauseemployees it is assumed thatthere are as manyinterpretations oforganizationalculture as there areindividualemployeesSource Adapted from Martin (2002).

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perspective is usually found in the messages and activities initiated by topmanagement to create and enhance organizational culture.The differentiation perspective represents a more interpretive approach. Thedifferentiation perspective assumes that cultural consensus exists withindifferent subcultures and groupings, but not on an organization-wide level. Themanifestations of organizational culture are hence not consistent throughout theorganization. Ambiguity and the drivers of organizational culture are to be foundin the consistency within subgroups and in the ambiguity distinguishing thesedifferent subgroups.In the third, and last, perspective of fragmentation the more constructivistperspective is represented. Here, it is assumed that an organizational culture candisplay a multitude of views. In the fragmentation perspective, there is noconsensus and the relation between manifestations of organizational culture iscomplex. Only a combination of the three levels – the whole organization,subgroups and individual level of research – can give an accurate and completesnapshot of the cultural web and drivers of organizational culture.In practice, the data collection focuses on the manifestations of organizationalculture expressed through a combination of different elements. These elementsillustrate that not only is it essential to encompass different perspectives in aresearch plan to ensure a deep and full understanding; grasping organizationalculture also requires breadth. The manifestations form the cultural web of mani-festations that in combination define a specific organizational culture.Organizational culture is best studied qualitatively and through embeddingoneself in the cultural settings. The researcher must seek detailed and holisticdescriptions based on intensive fieldwork to ensure understanding of how thecultural manifestations express a certain organizational identity. Since intensivefieldwork can be time-consuming, the ethnographic approach can adopt a clinicalThe identity approach 67Manifestationsof organizationalidentityStories/jargonPowerStructuresSymbolsOrganizationalstructuresRituals/Routines/PracticesControl systemsFigure 5.7 Manifestations of organizational identity (culture)

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perspective, where qualitative interviews are the main research instrument. But inorder to really understand a culture and interpret manifestations correctly, inter-views and observation may not always be enough. Interaction with and immersioninto the culture can be necessary to ensure the right interpretation (refer to chapter9 for a fuller description of ethnographic methods).The external elements of brand identity: methods for the study of image andreputationThe object of analysis when collecting data and learning about image and repu-tation is, on the one hand, the positioning of the company image in relation tocompetitors and, on the other hand, research of image from the receivers’ point ofview. When studying the image and reputation of a brand in relation tocompetitors, surveys and laddering techniques are frequently used. But in order toget a deep understanding of how and why consumers associate a certain imagewith a brand, methods from cognitive and social psychology are used to inves-tigate consumer perceptions and evaluations of image and reputation. Attitudesand perceptions are key elements when trying to understand the formation of animage and the mechanisms behind how image and reputation can be studied:• Perception. Human beings perceive through sensory processes involvingsight, sound, taste and hearing. After having absorbed inputs with our senses,it is time to perceive them. Perception is the process of meaning creationwhere the brain identifies input patterns and recognizes certain elements asbeing intertwined.• Cognition. Before being able to think about sensory inputs and messages,they must be perceived and recognized. Consumers construct mental repre-sentations (images) and develop an understanding of what they haveperceived – recognition process. This process takes place through abstractcognitive units rather than in language based units. These cognitive units arecreated through the use of images, words and symbols. Cognitive units linkobject (apple) and attribute (green), and action (donation of money to charity)to subject (a corporation). The cognition process is hence mental imagescapturing spatial relationships and ensuring recognition.• Attitudes are the general evaluations people make of themselves, otherpeople, objects and issues. Attitudes are emotional and influence how peoplebehave. Attitudes can make people react. (In brand management it isimportant to know exactly which brand initiatives make consumers react =consume.) It is difficult to predict to what extent attitudes affect action, butone thing is sure: people are more predisposed to act when some kind ofchange of circumstance causes them to evaluate their attitudes.Understanding how cognitive units work and what makes consumers change theirattitudes and maybe change consumption patterns is very valuable whenresearching brand image and reputation. Any research design for the investigation68 Seven brand approaches

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of the external elements of brand identity should reflect this knowledge about howconsumers perceive, form attitudes and ultimately act. Image is the result of short-term advertising or other communication efforts and reputation is formed based ona more long-term evaluation of brand actions and how the consumer interpretsthese and the motives behind them. Analysis of the contact points between brandand receiver is more important when collecting data about reputation. However, nomatter whether the subject of analysis is image or reputation, knowledge about howconsumers perceive and ultimately evaluate brand interaction is essential.The identity approach 69Box 5.6 Doing a study of brand identity yourself• Since the four elements of brand identity are studied with very differentmethods, make sure that you differentiate and carefully select the rightmethods to study each of the four elements of brand identity.• Initiate a long-term continuous research of reputation. Use a combi-nation of surveys, questionnaires and in-depth interviews.• For the study of image initiate the research with explorative qualitativemethods, where free association methods subtract all potential feedbackand associations. Finalize and make the results useful to guide managerialdecisions by using quantitative methods to uncover the salience of thecomplete list of feedback until narrowed down to a few central insights.• For the study of the internal elements, plan the research, ensure fullaccess to all meetings and processes. Without full access you will notget a complete and accurate picture of the organizational identity or thecorporate identity.• Immerse yourself in the everyday environment of the objects: watch,listen, learn and act.• Initiate the process of changing the object that is observed (mainlyorganizational identity) according to the observations made already.Changes should not be stand-alone activities, but should be imple-mented in every day processes.• Observe how existing routines or other manifestations of organiza-tional identity are affected.• Make sure to include all levels and functions in all actions and observa-tions, not only in the process of collecting data, but also in the data inter-pretation process.This will ensure a more accurate and deep understandingof organizational identity and its interplay with the corporate identity• Reflect on how the initiated changes were received, what can be donedifferently to improve results. What have you learned about the organi-zational culture that is new and requires new methods of observationand maybe new actions?• Make sure that all the four elements are studied simultaneously and thatthe results from the four studies are merged in an overall plan for howto respond to the results

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SummaryThe methods used and the data collected in the identity approach vary dependingon which of the four supporting themes is the subject to be studied. Data aboutcorporate identity are collected with the use of heuristic methods. The aim is tostudy the historical and current strategic development and visual expression ofbrand identity. When researching organizational identity, the methods draw oninspiration from anthropology and cultural studies, where participation,immersion and extensive fieldwork are a prerequisite for gaining the deep and richinsights necessary to understand the underlying drivers of the cultural manifesta-tions. Image is best studied by using a combination of qualitative methods for theexplorative phase, supplemented by a quantitative phase making the resultsmanagerially useful. The methods originate from cognitive and social psychologyand the focus is on consumer/stakeholder perception, cognition and attitudesformed in the process of continuous evaluation of brand image and reputation.Managerial implicationsA strong brand identity can be the source of competitive and financial strength.However, building and managing brand identity is a complex and difficultmanagement task. Research and management of the four supporting themesadding up to brand identity require very diverse data collection methods and avariety of skills and processes to implement in practice, because they respond tovery different constituencies. This underpins the need for a carefully plannedstrategy and sensitive approach when managing brand identity.70 Seven brand approachesTheoryMethods and dataAssumptionsManagerial implicationsFigure 5.8 Methods and data of the identity approach

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and reputation are all stakeholders. These different constituencies require thatinformation is gathered from multiple sources and a variety of methods are usedbefore misalignments or opportunities are uncovered.Gaps between vision and culture occur when the strategic vision top managementplans for the organization is not in line with the reality (organizational identity) of thecorporation – when employees are not able or willing to live up to the ambitiousgoals set by management. To uncover these gaps between vision and culture, it mustbe investigated if and to what extent employees support the visions planned by topmanagement. It is also essential to uncover if all functions or subcultures (from R&Dacross production, marketing and eventually the sales force and pre-sales servicefunction) in the organization approve and support the vision. If not all subcultures orgroupings of an organization work to achieve the same goal it is very difficult tobuild a coherent brand identity. Since the vision and culture are the primary driversof difficult-to-imitate differentiation, it is also important to investigate the vision andculture of the corporation stand out compared with the competition and hencedeliver sufficient grounds for the differentiation of brand identity. A generaltendency is that management practices have evolved from focus on control mecha-nisms and extensive identity programme manuals to focus more on empowerment,the use of experience and story telling to build commitment and cultural affiliation.Detecting identity gapsGaps between image and culture occur if employees do not deliver on the brandpromise and thereby disappoint consumer expectations. Here, the focus of investi-gation is on the extent to which employees’ perception of brand identity is in linewith stakeholder associations and evaluations of brand image and reputation. It isvital to uncover how brand stimuli and the interaction between employees ascarriers of brand identity and stakeholders contribute to the formation of brandimage. Finally, gaps between image and vision are an expression of a situationwhere top management is alienated from what consumers expect and perceive ofthe brand identity. Misalignments between vision and image can result inconsumers rejecting new product launches or marketing activities if they do notfeel that it is the right direction for the brand. Misalignment between vision andimage is serious and can be a symptom of inertia or lack of sufficient consumerintelligence.As a consequence, the company will miss out on market potential andconsumer loyalty. To detect whether there are dangers of misalignment betweenvision and image, it must be identified who the primary stakeholders of the brandare and what these stakeholders expect from the brand identity. Effective,continuous interaction and communication with stakeholders are required in orderto avoid misalignment between the two sources of brand identity.Aligning identity gapsIn practice, brand managers can use knowledge about the multiple identities andtheir alignment to manage the brand in a direction that is in line with consumers’72 Seven brand approaches

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perceptions of image, the strategic visions and hope for what the brand shouldachieve in the future, and the actual behaviour and organizational culture of thebrand. After having uncovered the state of the image, corporate identity and theorganizational identity and their respective alignment issues, a process ofenhancing and alignment must take place. The tools used to manage this processcan be divided into five cyclical steps:Table 5.4 Detecting identity gapsGap between Vision/Culture Culture/Image Image/Vision(according to thecorporate brandtoolkit):Theoretical elements Corporate identity Organizational Image andand organizational identity and image corporate identityidentityGaps between Desired and ideal The actual identity The conceived(according to the identity misaligned misaligned with the identity misalignedAC2ID framework): with the actual communicated and with the desired andidentity conceived identity ideal identityConstituencies Top management Employees and Stakeholders andand employees stakeholders top managementQuestions • Does the everyday • What perception • Who are thereality reflect the of image do stakeholders ofvalues the vision stakeholders the company?requires? express? • What do the• Is the vision • How do employees stakeholders wantsupported by all perceive company and expect fromfunctions and image? the company?subcultures of the • How do • How well iscompany? stakeholders and knowledge about• Are vision and employees stakeholders’culture sufficiently interact? imagesdifferentiated from communicated tocompetition? top managementand vice versa?How to solve Ensure that not only Set up organizational Make sure that topmisalignment communication but identity in a way that management isalso out-of-the-box supports the image informed byactivities and and reputation of customer insightscontinuous training the brand identity. and new tendenciesensure that Measure all contact are detected. Avoidemployees points between inertia andunderstand stakeholders and self-consumedand support the employees against irrelevant brandcorporate identity image and launches orreputation activities by takingimage perceptionsseriouslyThe identity approach 73

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• Stating. State the vision and identity of the corporate brand. (Who are we andwhat do we want to become?) Articulating core values and identity behindbrand establishes the corporate identity.• Organizing. Link vision with culture and image practices. How can we reor-ganize to achieve fit? Cross-functional structure and process changesestablish the frame for developing the appropriate organizational identity.• Involving. Involve stakeholders through culture and image. Engageemployees in execution and involve consumer images. Get input frommultiple sources.• Integrating. Integrate culture and image around a new brand identity. Alignthe organization behind the brand. Align the multiple identities across internalfunctions.• Monitoring. Track corporate branding gaps and brand performance.Challenges when building brand identityBrand-building activities based on the line of thought behind the identityapproach are often criticized for being an ego-stroking waste of time with no rele-vance for either consumers or stakeholders. To avoid this identity trap andTable 5.5 Aligning identity gapsActivity Cycle 1: State Cycle 2: Organize Cycle 3: Involve Cycle 4: IntegrateKey State the identity Link corporate Involve Integrateprocess for the corporate vision to stakeholders corporate vision,brand and link organizational through organizationalthis identity to culture and the organizational culture and thecorporate vision image culture and the image around theimage new brandidentityKey Who are we as How can we How can we How can wequestion an organization reorganize the involve internal integrateand what do we corporate brand? and external corporate vision,stand for? stakeholders in organizationalthe corporate culture and thebrand? image of thecorporate brand?Key • Make company • Create a • Does the • Integrate theconcerns wide audit of coherent brand company have brand acrossbrand expression organization a shared markets and• Revisit brand • Provide cultural mindset? business areascultural heritage managerial • Ensure active• Analyse brand foundation for inclusion ofimages among implementation globalstakeholders processes stakeholdersperceptionsSource Adapted from Schultz et al. (2005).74 Seven brand approaches

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enhance the probability of success, the objectives of the brand identity buildingcampaign must be clearly defined and results must be carefully measured againstobjectives. Is the object to create awareness, the creation of favourable attitudesor the enhancement of organizational identity, and why? Is the goal externallyoriented or is the focus more internal, with the aim to increase employer moti-vation and attract better recruits? No matter what the goal is, it is important to bevery clear on why brand identity activities are needed and what the companywishes to achieve with such activities.It is also necessary to consider whether the organizational structure of thecompany suits the aims of brand identity. It is important to understand the forcesthat drive particular types of organizations. Having established goals and organi-zational structure, it is time to involve employees in the brand identity project.Often, too much energy is used on attempts to change employee attitudes andbehaviour in practice. Best-practice cases have indicated that efforts ought tofocus on the translation of brand values into real-life experiences that can be usedon any occasion. It is often difficult to get all employees to actively support brandidentity programmes. A good way to ensure daily involvement and commitmentcan be to give employees ‘out of the box’ experiences on a regular basis throughevents and sponsorships; this can provide real-life experiences, buildingcommitment and sharing. Instead of trying to implement and align identitiesthrough communication only, these real-life experiences can inspire employees toactivate the brand promise in their everyday working environment. Sharing ofreal-life experiences among employees is a good way to bring the brand identity tolife internally and ensure that employees live the values and the organizationalidentity of the brand.The identity approach 75Box 5.7 Living the brand: all about the people of Quiksilver‘Living the brand’is a construct that describes brands building on ideas thatare so powerful that employees engage to such an extent that they are notonly employed by, but ‘live the brand’. These brands build unforeseenemployee involvement and commitment. Employees internalize brandvalues: brand values, symbols and stories keep employees’ behaviouraligned with the values of the brand. This enables them to deliver the brandpromise to consumers, hence acting as key co-creators of brand equity. Thecompanies succeeding in this benefit in terms of higher productivity,enhanced financial performance and greater intellectual capital.Australian surfers Alan Green and John Law founded Quiksilver in 1970.Greenie and Law started Quiksilver by redesigning the surfer’s board shorterusing a fabric that dried rapidly, with Velcro and snap closure. These featureswere exactly what board riders demanded and the product became a hugesuccess. The founders had insights into the needs of board riders becausethey themselves were part of that environment. This insight was what laid the

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The cultural and historical heritage of a company can also be used to build brandidentity. The company does not necessarily need to have been in business formany years before it is able to use history or culture actively in the building ofbrand identity. Also a unique organizational identity or a charismatic CEO can bethe source of corporate and organizational identity.foundation for the company. This foundation and the implied closeness to theenvironment of their consumers is still a priority. Today, Quiksilver callthemselves a board-riding company, indicating that employees share thepassion for board riding. Consumer involvement is underpinned by muchsponsorship of surfers and of board-riding events that Quiksilver supports orarranges around the world. Employees at Quiksilver live the Quiksilverbrand, getting actively involved in board-riding communities.76 Seven brand approachesBox 5. 8 Do’s and don’ts of the identity approachDo Don’tDisperse shared vision Don’t neglect diverse interpretationsand loose vitality and dynamicsDisperse shared organizational Don’t get stuck in the pitfall ofculture group-think and path dependenceManagement should be strong, Don’t neglect subcultures andvisible, and provide guidance diverse organizational functionsBe cross-functional, involve the Don’t cut off innovation and newwhole organization ideas that require deep insight andexploration of new pathsIncorporate change Don’t jeopardize the distinctivenessof brand identityListen to the market and be open Don’t go with short-term marketto co-creation of brand identity trends and lose core competencesEmbed brand identity management Don’t leave brand management tostrategically top management solelyAlign corporate identity, Don’t overcomplicate matters andorganizational identity, image get lost in complexityand reputation continuouslyMake sure that brand identity Don’t revolutionize brand identityevolves continuously

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SummaryThe primary task of the brand manager in the brand identity approach is to ensurethat consumers and stakeholders experience a strong and coherent brand identitythrough all contacts with it. In order to achieve this, it is essential that the identitytypes or the theoretical building blocks of organizational identity, corporateidentity, image and reputation, are aligned. This requires a multidimensionalapproach where the detection and alignment can take place across all functionsand subcultures in the organization. After careful analysis of identity gaps thebrand identity can be developed and enhanced through a process of cyclical steps.In this process, the brand identity is stated, more information about identity typesis gathered and core values are articulated. Secondly the brand identity isorganized – how can the stated brand identity be implemented to kick in allidentity types? The third process ensures that all stakeholders are involved in thecreation and implementation of brand identity through dispersing information andbrand identity-building activities. The final process integrates all the identity typesin one coherent brand identity.Run campaigns internally before Don’t fail to communicate andthey are run externally activate to ensure real lifeexperiences internally before brandactivities are initiated externallyThe identity approach 77TheoryManagerialimplicationsAssumptionsMethods and dataFigure 5.10 Managerial implications of the identity approach

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Comments from the ‘founding fathers’(1)The value of the identity approach to the study and management ofbrandsMajken Schultz, Copenhagen Business School, and Mary Jo Hatch,University of VirginiaBranding is constantly on the move, both in theory and in practice. Since theearly days, when it was rooted in the marketing discipline, branding hasbecome a strategic concern for corporations which requires a much more inte-grative approach than marketing alone can provide.Arange of different disci-plines and organizational functions need to be engaged and inspired so that theorganization is motivated to deliver the brand promise throughout all activ-ities. The recent development of what here is called the identity approach is anexample of this shift in the foundation for analyzing and managing brands.Originating from corporate identity with its focus on the expressive sideof branding, the identity approach draws on insights from organizationstudies, social psychology and stakeholder theory. Through these influ-ences, the approach embraces the relational and dynamic nature of identity,claiming that, when corporate branding works, it is intimately tied into theorganization’s identity, continuously arcing between the poles of ‘Who amI?’and ‘What do others think about me?’Knowing what creates the sense of‘we’ allows organizations to authentically tell others what they stand for.But knowing who you are also requires intimate knowledge of how stake-holders see your organization. This is because external images interact withthe ways in which employees think about their organization and the organi-zational culture that helps them make sense of what they hear and knowabout the organization. Together, what they know themselves to be throughdirect experience and contact with the images of others creates an identitydialogue that provides the foundation for branding.We claim that strong brands are based in the alignment between strategicvision, organization culture and stakeholder images. This is represented inchapter 5 as the corporate branding toolkit.As with most conceptual models,this is an ideal to aim for. The reality for most companies is that they contin-ually struggle to maintain alignment through most of their lives, at timesconfronting significant gaps in the relationships between vision, culture andimages that require more radical intervention. It is our experience that whatmakes the difference between leading brands and the rest is their willingnessand ability to pose questions to their corporate brands – and use the answersin their continuous development of their vision, their culture and theirimages. This is a process that never ceases.Meanwhile, as a practice and a field of study, branding continues toevolve from its roots in product thinking and its further development as a78 Seven brand approaches

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Student questions1 How is the identity approach different from the economic approach?2 What are the differences between product branding and corporate branding?3 How can companies benefit from corporate branding?corporate-wide endeavour. As a consequence the ways in whichcompanies engage in brand management continue to change. Brandingbegan as a marketing endeavour to create and manage the relationshipbetween products and consumers. This might have worked well at theproduct level, but it implied that corporate brands often were treated as ifthey were giant economy-sized product brands that can be created withadvertising campaigns.When the term corporate started to receive more attention in corporatebranding, brand management became a multi-functional activity. Thismeant that HR, corporate communication, investor relations, and all theother communication functions joined with marketers to manage thecorporate brand. This ultimately spawned cross-functional task forces andteams whose job was to co-ordinate all the corporate brand efforts going onaround the company and to bring corporate brand thinking to other projectsand programmes as well. Corporate branding led to such innovations asemployer brands and a plethora of brand activation and renewalprogrammes – each designed, orchestrated and led by different groupswithin the corporation. Over time, this activity contributed to fragmentationand confusion as different groups claimed their piece of the branding puzzleand the resources that came along with them.In the context of the stakeholder society, a new wave of enterprisebranding is evolving to respond to these gathering forces and balance theidentity conversation by positioning the corporate brand to be the voice, notjust of the company, but of the stakeholders that comprise the enterprise.This newly emerging framework holds out hope not only that corporatebranding will resolve internal integration problems, but that it will reaffirmthe strategic approach to managing the expectations of those stakeholderswho make up the enterprise of which the company is but a part.As a result the next generation of brand managers will spend increasingamounts of time looking at the brand through the eyes of their multiplestakeholders. Participation in brand community events will feature promi-nently on their schedules, and every interaction inside the firm and out willbecome much more of a two-way communication process. Brand managerswill bring some of these stakeholders into the management process, makinguse of their ideas and skills in internal company activities. They will designnew activities that get employees to work alongside even more stakeholdersdoing things that give all of their lives greater meaning.The identity approach 79

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6 The consumer-based approachwith a commentary by Professor Kevin Lane Keller, Tuck School of Business,Dartmouth CollegeLearning objectivesThe purpose of this chapter is to:Understand the assumptions of the consumer-based approach• The brand is a cognitive construal in the mind of the consumer• The brand resides in the mind of the consumer, but the marketer is stillable to control brand value creationUnderstand the theoretical building blocks and how they are connected• The cognitive consumer perspective• The information-processing theory of consumer choice• Customer-based brand equityProvide insights into the variety of methods used to inquire into thecognitive aspects of the consumer• Input–output methods to understand how consumer decisions change ifstimuli are changed• Process-tracing methods to understand the process of brand choice• Measuring customer-based brand equityUnderstand the managerial implications• The ‘dualist’ nature of the approach• Superior outside–in capabilities• The marketer should stress brand congruency and consistency

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In the early years of brand management the focus was on the ‘sender end’of brandcommunication. In the year of 1993 brand management was profoundly changedby one research article in particular. Kevin Lane Keller published the article‘Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity’ in theJournal of Marketing and thereby instigated a major change in the field of brandmanagement. Customer-based brand equity is based on the premise that the brandresides in the minds of consumers as a cognitive construal, which is why we havechosen to name it the consumer-based approach. Consumer research was, at thispoint in time, very much influenced by cognitive psychology and the related infor-mation-processing theory of consumer choice. Insights from these veins of liter-ature were adapted to brand management theory by the birth of theconsumer-based approach.The 1993 article introduced a new brand and consumer perspective, thus givingbirth to a new brand management approach. Besides that, it also played anextremely important role as it discussed and clarified some central notions of brandmanagement.At this time, the discipline of brand management suffered from a lackof independence in relation to the parent discipline of marketing. Research articleson branding were often difficult to tell from articles on advertising research andother marketing phenomena. The key notion of brand equity often was not evenmentioned and certainly not defined. All in all, the academic discipline of brandmanagement appeared rather immature and scientifically incomplete. All thischanged after the introduction of customer-based brand equity. One of the veryimportant contributions of the Keller publication was that the article instigated anew way of relating to the more and more independent scientific discipline of brandmanagement by its thorough discussion of the key term of brand equity. Before1993 academic articles rarely mentioned brand equity while the vast majority ofpost-1993 articles start out by relating their subject of choice to different definitionsof brand equity (read about brand equity in chapter 2).Since the launch of the consumer-based approach, the mindset behind it has beenwidely adopted as the most influential way of thinking about brands and branding:‘Keller’s exposition of the customer-based brand equity model offers the mostwidely accepted and comprehensive treatment of branding inAmerican marketing’(Holt 2005, p. 277). The initial impact of the theory as presented in 1993 has beenfollowed up by the great importance of Keller’s book Strategic BrandManagement: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity (1998 and 2003).As it is our aim to make a side-by-side presentation of the seven schools ofthought, they are presented as ideal types. Therefore, we focus on the originalcognitive brand and consumer perspective in this approach (by focusing on thefounding article and the literature relating to it). How the approach has furtherdeveloped will be discussed and compared with the new approaches in a final section.Assumptions of the consumer-based approachThe two prior approaches – the economic approach and the identity approach – areboth primarily focused on the sending end of brand communication. The84 Seven brand approaches

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economic approach (chapter 4) focuses on the way a marketer can influence brandvalue creation through adjusting the components of the traditional marketing mix.The primary focus of the identity approach (chapter 5) is the brand in an organiza-tional perspective. In the consumer-based approach, the brand is analysed asresiding in the mind of the individual consumer as a cognitive construal.The consumer has thus become the main point of interest in this approach. He orshe is suddenly considered the ‘owner’ of the brand. Where the two priorapproaches stressed an inside–out perspective on brand value creation, theconsumer-based approach introduces an outside–in approach to brandmanagement. The approach thereby embraces an external strategy formationopposed to the internal formation of the two prior approaches.Brand value creation takes place by moulding the brand associations held in theconsumers’ minds. Understanding the consumer is hence central in this take onbrand value creation; but it is important to notice that the approach implies aspecific view on the consumer. The consumer is analysed by means of theoriesadopted from cognitive psychology and the information-processing theory ofconsumer choice.The ‘brand–consumer exchange’ and the cognitive perspectiveIn the other approach chapters we have outlined the assumed characteristics of thebrand–consumer exchange first and then introduced the scientific tradition fromwhich the approach stems. In this section we will, however, introduce the twothemes jointly as it does not make sense to talk about the brand–consumerexchange without also talking about the specific consumer perspective.In the consumer-based approach, brand strength equals strong, unique andfavourable associations in the minds of its consumers. The fact that the brand is acognitive construal in the mind of the consumer makes one jump to the conclusionthat the consumer ‘owns’ the brand and thereby controls brand value creation.The marketer is, however, assumed to be very much in control with brandcommunication as the approach rests upon an assumption of the consumer as acognitive man. The consumer is seen and analysed through a lens grounded incognitive psychology and information economics. As we describe in further detailin the next section, the cognitive perspective implies a view of man that still grantsmanagers control over brand image creation. Even though the brand is analysed asa mental construal in the mind of the consumer, it still makes sense to talk aboutthe communication of intended meaning. This notion of linear communicationThe consumer-based approach 85ConsumerBrandFigure 6.1 The brand resides in the mind of the consumer

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86 Seven brand approachesmeans that the recipient of a message understands the message as intended by thesender. In cognitive psychology, the dominant man metaphor is that of thecomputer and the human mind is supposed to process sensory data in much thesame way a computer processes binary data.In cognitive psychology, an if–then logic applies. If the marketer feeds the‘consumer computer’ with the most appropriate information, then the consumerwill do as intended and choose the brand. One is able to programme a computerinto doing the same thing every time and this logic applies to the brand–consumerexchange of this approach. In other words, the consumer is the focal point in thisapproach, but the marketer is still assumed to control the brand. The approachassumes the linear interaction between sensory input r consumer r brand choice.At a first glance, the consumer appears to be all-powerful in thebrand–consumer exchange in this approach. But the consumer ‘ownership’ of theapproach is paradoxical; even though the consumer ‘owns’ the brand, he or she isstill treated as a generic entity that the skilled communicator is able to‘programme’ into intended action. The chaotic, unpredictable and ‘autonomous’aspects of consumer behaviour that are taken into consideration in the laterapproaches (the relational, the community and the cultural approaches) are notconsidered in the consumer perspective in this approach.SummaryThe consumer-based approach assumes that the brand is a cognitive construalresiding in the mind of the consumer.This assumption indicates that the consumer is very much in control of thebrand–consumer exchange. This is, however, not entirely the case. The consumeris seen through a lens borrowed from cognitive psychology and the main metaphorfor man in this perspective is that of the computer.And just like a skilled computer programmer is able to programme the computerinto doing as intended, the marketer who is willing to map out the brand construalin the mind of the consumer, will be able to choose exactly the right brand elementsand communicate them to a consumer who will respond accordingly. These, seem-ingly contradictory, assumptions are what lie behind the consumer-based approach.Brand choiceSensory inputthe informationprocessingconsumerFigure 6.2 The computer is the central metaphor of man in cognitive psychology

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Theoretical building blocks of the consumer-based approachAs mentioned in the introduction, the consumer-based approach is founded on oneresearch article presenting the customer-based brand equity framework. Thisframework is the core theme of the consumer-based approach.Behind the framework is the information-processing theory of consumerchoice, and behind this theory we find the cognitive consumer perspective. In thissection we will move forwards, starting out with a brief introduction to thecognitive consumer perspective. From here, we move on to a short review of theinformation-processing theory of consumer choice. Both topics are extremelycomprehensive and quite complicated and going into depth with them is beyondthe scope of this book. Still, having become acquainted with important character-istics of these two topics, the reader will be better equipped to fully understand thecore theme: that of customer-based brand equity.Figure 6.4 depicts how the customer-based brand equity framework builds oninsights from both the cognitive consumer perspective and the information-processing theory of consumer choice and that this theory also draws on thecognitive consumer perspective.The cognitive consumer perspectiveIn the assumptions you have already been introduced to some of the key character-istics of cognitive psychology. The main metaphor for man (the consumer) is thatof the computer; cognitive psychology focuses on the process from a consumerbeing exposed to stimuli from his or her environment (input, information), howAssumptionsTheoryMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 6.3 Assumptions of the consumer-based approachThe consumer-based approach 87

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these stimuli enter the mind via the senses, and how they lead to action (choice). Itis also fundamental to understand the if–then logic that applies to this consumerperspective.Cognitive psychology is concerned with the higher cognitive processes,namely memory, language, problem solving, imagery, deduction and induction.In other words, the cognitive research tradition deals with aspects such asreasoning, intelligence and learning, and tries to answer questions like ‘How dowe learn?’‘How do we remember?’‘What makes us pay attention?’‘What makesus react?’ As we grow up, we develop greater cognitive structure; meaning thatwe become still better at discriminating among stimuli and organizing stimuliinto meaningful constructs.The cognitive research tradition deliberately neglects emotional factors as wellas historical and cultural aspects when studying how human beings function andbehave. Relevant to this approach is how we store knowledge, how we remember,and how our attention is captured. The sum of this process is to understand howthis process leads to action, in our line of interest: brand choice.We store enormous amounts of knowledge in our memory. Memory is activated(by a sensory input) and spreading activities begin. Thereby, knowledge isretrieved from memory. Knowledge in memory consists of nodes and links and isstructured into associative networks. Nodes are the stored information connectedby links in associative networks. The nodes vary in strength; some associations arestronger than others. Environmental stimuli (e.g. a commercial message) trigger anode that through the ‘spreading activity’ triggers new nodes associated with thefirst one. An example of this spreading activity might be the word Volkswagen.The retrieval of the node Volkswagen triggers a spreading activity that potentiallycould look like figure 6.5. The associations can continue in all directions until theyhave lost relevance for the node Volkswagen. The fact that some links are empha-sized shows that some associations are more direct and are thus retrieved moreeasily than others (they are stronger associations).A node is a mental representation. Cognitive research aims at deepening theunderstanding of mental representations as a level of description, separable from,Supporting theme:The cognitive consumerperspectiveSupporting theme:The infomation-processingtheory of consumer choiceCore theme:Customer-basedbrand equityFigure 6.4 Supporting themes and the core themes of the consumer-based approach88 Seven brand approaches

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respectively, neurological and socio-cultural aspects. Mental representations areabstractions we all perform at any given time as a way of ‘stocking’information inmemory. We cannot ‘stock’ items the way they really are, and therefore we ‘cata-logue’ them in certain systems. (We cannot store the phenomenon of a‘Volkswagen’ in its totality.) One of the fundamental challenges of cognitivepsychology is that human beings under study have to ‘translate’ their memoryrepresentations into language even though we do not necessarily ‘stock’memoriesby means of language.Stylish60s adsFlowerPowerTheBeetleDangerCarSpeedMovementVolkswagenEuropeOldHigh-qualtyExpensiveGermanyReliabilityEngineeringFigure 6.5 Simple associative network spreading from the node VolkswagenThe consumer-based approach 89

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Box 6.1 Memory representationsMemory representations fall into different categories: direct, non-verbalrepresentations (sensory), propositional representations (abstract interpreta-tions) and linguistic representations.• Direct or analogous representations are direct (non-verbal) sensorysensations such as: what does a brand look like or how does it feel?Sensory representations also include how packaging and advertise-ments look. For example a Volvo is a large, rather square car and mostoften a station wagon.90 Seven brand approachesLinguisticrepresentations• Visual (letters, words,sentences)• Auditory (noises,sounds)Direct or analogousrepresentations• Visual images• Auditoryrepresentations• Tactile experiences• Tastes• SmellsPropositional representationsSymbolic meanings(‘Image’)(‘Mentalese’)BrandFigure 6.6 The three forms of cognition applied to brands; from G. Franzen and M.Bouwman, The Mental World of Brands (2001), figure 10.1, p. 178, reprinted bypermission of World Advertising Research Centre, Henley on Thames(www.warc.com)

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In cognitive psychology, memory is considered very durable. Things we store inmemory tend to stay there for a long time. In cognitive consumer research, repeatedexposure to a commercial message is therefore considered very important. Perceptualenhancement of a concept can actually lead to more or less permanent memory codes.This brief introduction to cognitive psychology is by no means exhaustive buthas mentioned the key characteristics that are most important for understandingthe background as well as the implications of the consumer-based approach.The information-processing theory of consumer choiceThe information-processing theory of consumer choice has cognitive psychology asits point of departure and focuses on explaining how consumers process informationbefore reaching a consumption choice. Here, choice provides the focal point: ‘theconsumer is characterized as interacting with his or her choice environment, seekingand taking in information from various sources, processing this information, andthen making a selection from among some alternatives’(Bettman 1979, p. 1).Consumers make an enormous number of choices, and make choices at manydifferent levels. Should I buy a particular brand? Should I examine info or not?When should I make the purchase? Where should I make the purchase? How shouldI pay for it? These are examples of the countless number of choices we all go throughbefore leaving a store with a purchase.Akey assumption in this theory is that choiceis a process. The marketer should seek an understanding of these choice processes inorder to fine-tune marketing communication to make the consumer choose asintended. (Read about process-tracing methods in the methods and data section.)In this theory, the following factors – processing capacity, motivation, attention,perception, information acquisition and evaluation, memory decision processes,and learning – influence the process. The information-processing theory ofconsumer choice displays a belief that behaviour is caused and hence (in principle)explainable (the if–then logic of cognitive psychology).• Propositional representations are interpretations of the brand. Theyare non-sensory, abstract brand meanings derived from the sensorybrand experiences. For example a Volvo is often interpreted as a car fora well-off and rather intellectual family.• Linguistic representations are words and sentences used to expressbrand meaning and experiences with the brand. These can be lengthyaccounts or so short that they almost become analogous representationsof the brand. For example Volvo = safety.These three categories are worth considering when investigating brandassociations in the memories of consumers as important brand associationsemanate on all levels.Source Franzen and Bouwman (2001)The consumer-based approach 91

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In the economic approach, the consumer was supposed to be an economic man,able to take into consideration all relevant information and rationally evaluatedifferent options in a choice situation. The view of the consumer in the infor-mation-processing theory of consumer choice is somewhat different. Theconsumer is assumed to be exposed to a constant information overload and themind an inadequate container in an over-communicated society full of commercialmessages. ‘The computer’ is in other words not capable of processing all the datathat are fed to it. Therefore, the human mind economizes on processing capacityby choosing not to process all information. These simplifying strategies that econ-omize on processing capacity (heuristics) are also central to understanding theinformation-processing theory of consumer research and the further implicationsfor and of the customer-based brand equity framework.Customer-based brand equity‘Customer-based brand equity is defined as the differential effect of brandknowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand’ (Keller 1993,p. 2). It is also a conceptual model of brand equity seen from the perspective ofthe individual consumer: The ‘marketing’ of the above definition relates to themarketing mix, but the point of view is reversed in comparison with theeconomic approach (chapter 4) – it is consumer reactions to marketing actionsthat are in focus.The global understanding of the brand in the mind of the consumer is conceptu-alized as ‘brand knowledge’, which is divided into ‘brand awareness’(brand recalland brand recognition) and ‘brand image’ (the set of associations linked with thebrand). Memory principles and structure from cognitive psychology are the back-ground of brand knowledge. As explained in the above sections, memory andknowledge consist of a set of nodes and links. Nodes are stored information andBox 6.2 Heuristics are important in low-involvement categoriesConsumers take more brand alternatives into consideration during aconsumption choice process if either the perceived risks or the perceivedbenefits are high.Choosing a mundane, low-involvement brand involves a simpler processof choice where heuristics are more easily applied.Heuristics take on different forms. Below are two examples:• Lexicographic heuristic: ‘I buy the least expensive brand’.• Familiarity heuristic: ‘I buy the brand most familiar to me’.Especially in low-involvement categories, it is hence worth while investi-gating which heuristics are typically applied in choice processes.Source Kardes (1994)92 Seven brand approaches

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links are what bind them together. The links vary in strength depending on howwell the association is stored in long-term memory.In order to measure whether a brand has customer-based brand equity, brandknowledge has to be mapped, implying that brand awareness and brand image – inthe mind of the individual consumer – have to be measured. Brand awareness is aprerequisite for customer-based brand equity. If the consumer is not aware of thebrand, it is not relevant to talk about brand equity in the first place; then thecompany competes on the product rather than the brand. Brand awareness consistsof brand recognition and brand recall.• Brand recognition. Does the consumer recognize the brand name? Theconsumer must confirm having had prior exposure to the brand.• Brand recall is a bit more demanding of the consumer. Here, the brand has tobe recalled on the mention of a cue (e.g. the product category).The consumer-based approach 93Types ofBrandAssociationsBrandRecognitionBrandRecallFavorabilityof BrandAssociationsStrength ofAssociationsUniquenessof BrandAssociationsBrandKnowledgeBrandAwarenessBrandImagePricePackagingUserImageryUsageImageryAttributesBenefitsAttitudesNon-product-relatedProduct-relatedFunctionalExperientalSymbolicFigure 6.7 Dimensions of brand knowledge; reprinted with permission from Journal ofMarketing, 57 (1993), published by the American Marketing Association, K. L. Keller,‘Conceptualizing, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity’, p. 7

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But being able to retrieve the brand from memory is only the foundation forhaving customer-based brand equity. A thorough conceptualization of brandimage is also a part of customer-based brand equity. Brand image is ‘perceptionsabout a brand as reflected by the brand associations held in consumer memory.Brand associations are the other informational nodes linked to the brand node inmemory and contain the meaning of the brand for consumers’ (Keller 1993, p. 3).Until 1993 the term brand image became increasingly used and the need formanaging the brand image over time became emphasized: ‘The relationshipbetween a brand’s concept and its image must be managed throughout the life ofthe brand’(Park et al. 1986, p. 137). Despite growing interest, it was quite unclearwhat brand image was. In the customer-based brand equity framework, the associ-ations related to brand image consist of several types of associations relating toattributes, benefits and attitudes.Attributes are descriptive features characterizing a product or a service.• Product-related attributes are associations directly associated with theproduct or the service. It could be the physical appearance of a car and the feelof driving it.• Non-product-related attributes are external aspects related to its purchase orthe consumption of it. There are four groups of non-product-related attributesthat are taken into account: price information, packaging, user imagery (animpression of the type of person that consumes the brand) and use image(impressions of the context of brand use).Benefits are personal values attached to the brand by the consumer. They are idio-syncratic evaluations or expectations of what the brand can do for the consumer.Benefits fall into three categories; functional, experiential, and symbolic.• Functional benefits are personal expectations of what the product can do forconsumers. They correspond to the product-related features but are morepersonal evaluations; the functional benefits are thus less objective than theproduct-related attributes.• Experiential benefits relate to the sensory experience of using the brand.What does it feel like to use the brand? What kind of pleasure will I obtainfrom consuming the brand? This aspect provides variety for the consumer andsatisfies hedonic consumption needs.• Symbolic benefits are about self-expression and the way we signal to othersby means of consumption objects.Brand attitudes are the last class of brand associations in the map of brand image.Brand attitudes are consumers’overall evaluations of the brand. This overall eval-uation is very important as it often guides brand choice.To recapitulate, a brand (of which the consumer is aware) is a node in an asso-ciative network of brand knowledge. The brand name triggers a spreading activityand associations pop up. Some associations pop up faster and more immediately94 Seven brand approaches

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than others; they are connected to the brand node by a stronger link and are, thus,more powerful associations than the ones connected more loosely to the mainnode. The associations appear as different kinds of mental representations, as allassociations are interpretations made by our cognitive mindsets. Some associa-tions are of a more visual nature and some are of a more verbal nature that others.The basis for talking about customer-based brand equity is, as alreadymentioned, brand awareness. If brand awareness can be stated, the further processis to create a map of consumer associations consisting of the above-mentionedelements. These customer associations paint an accurate picture of the content ofbrand image.Content is one thing, but customer-based brand equity also expresses a valuethat can be measured against that of competitors. For a brand to have highcustomer-based brand equity (in other words to be a strong brand), the consumerassociations need to be more favourable, strong and unique than the image asso-ciated with competing brands.• Favourability corresponds to whether the consumer’s overall brand associa-tions are more or less favourable than those associated with competingbrands. Is the overall brand attitude so favourable that it will likely affectconsumption behaviour?• Strength of brand associations corresponds to the way associations spread inthe associative web activated by the brand as node. Strong associations appearfast (the accentuated links in figure 6.5) and demand attention. (Make theconsumer pay attention to the information stored in the association.)• Uniqueness of associations. A brand with desirable customer-based brandequity can also claim some unique associations. Some central associationsshould ideally not be shared by competing brands. Unique associations arethe unique selling point of the brand.Customer-based brand equity has a comparative framework and can also be negative:a brand is said to have positive (negative) customer-based brand equity ifconsumers react more (less) favourably to the product, price, promotion, ordistribution of the brand as they do to the same marketing mix when it isattributed to a fictitiously named or unnamed version of the product or service.(Keller 1993, p. 8)As the customer-based brand equity is a conceptual model, it does not build on aresearch project, but is rather an application of the established knowledge aboutconsumer behaviour to branding. It gives birth to a new approach to brandmanagement (which to date has proven the most tenacious) and opens up for aclarification of brand image and brand equity. Now:brand equity should be thought of as a multidimensional concept that dependson (1) what knowledge structures are present in the minds of consumers andThe consumer-based approach 95

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(2) what actions a firm can take to capitalize on the potential offered by theseknowledge structures.(Keller 1993, p. 14)96 Seven brand approachesBox 6.3 How to structure brand associationsThe association map below depicts associations spreading from the node‘7-Up’. The map is based on a limited number of interviews of Dutchconsumers and the brand name is the only stimulus (Franzen and Bouwman2001). The stronger associations are emphasized, but whether the associations7-UpPureCleanClearTransparentNocolouringsChildrenThirstquencherCarbonatedSparklingDifferentFreshCoolStickySweetAdultLemonBittersweetHealthyNeutralcolourNeutraltasteFrom oldtimesMix drinkAlternativefor Coca-Cola,etc. andcolouredsoft drinksFigure 6.8 Associations spreading from the node ‘Seven up’; from G. Franzen andM. Bouwman, The Mental World of Brands (2001), figure 10.2, p. 179, reprintedby permission of World Advertising Research Centre, Henley-on-Thames(www.warc.com)

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SummaryCognitive psychology applied to consumer research, and the associated infor-mation-processing theory of consumer choice, serve as supporting themes for thecore theory of customer-based brand equity. In cognitive psychology, man ispresumed to function much like a computer and the focus is on how knowledge (inthe form of mental representations) is stored in and can be retrieved from memory.are strong, favourable and unique are not investigated, nor is brand awarenessmeasured. Therefore the association map is a ‘messy’ picture of brand image.Below, the association map is structured according to the brand image elements.The process of structuring association maps arranges the content of brandimage well arranged. It becomes clear which associations are linked withthe product and which are more abstracted. In the case of user imagery, it isinteresting that the ‘children’ association is linked with ‘sweet’ and ‘sticky’while the ‘adult’ user imagery is linked with ‘bittersweet’ and ‘lemon’. Inthat sense, the association map turned into brand image provides greatinsights to be elaborated on in the further planning of marketing activity.The consumer-based approach 97Adult (bittersweet,lemon) Children(sweet, sticky)No colouring/pure/healthyTransparent/clear/cleanNeutral colour/Neutral taste/Sparkling/CarbonatedBittersweetThirst quencherFreshCoolFrom old timesDifferentMix drinksLemon7-UpBrand Image/Types ofbrandassociationsUserImageryUsageImageryAttributesBenefitsAttitudesNon-product-relatedProduct-relatedFunctionalExperientalSymbolicFigure 6.9 ‘7-Up’ brand associations adapted to the customer-based brand equityframework

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The information-processing theory of consumer choice focuses on explainingthe process of choice. Man is supposed to have limited processing capacity, whichis why the marketer should be aware to make the most efficient communication.The customer-based brand equity framework is a brand management theorythat draws upon the two above themes. This framework maps brand knowledgeas a cognitive construal. In order to be able to talk about customer-based brandequity, brand awareness has to exist in the minds of consumers. The brand has tobe recalled and recognized. If this is the case, brand image can be mapped.Brand image consists of consumer associations depicting tangible as well asintangible aspects of the brand, also depicting attributes, benefits and attitudes.Customer-based brand equity is a comparative framework by which the favoura-bility, strength and uniqueness of brand association can be measured againstthose of competing brands.Methods and data of the consumer-based approachAs described in the introduction to this chapter, the cognitive consumerperspective and the consumer-based approach have become very dominant both inthe fields of consumer research and brand management. Therefore, there is anabundance of methods that can be used for researching consumers along this lineof thought. In this section we will present a few of the most widely appliedmethods for gathering knowledge of the cognitive consumer and his or her choiceprocesses. These methods provide an insight into the way consumers are investi-gated when the researcher aims at understanding the cognitive mechanisms acti-vated during consumption choices.TheoryAssumptionsMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 6.10 Theory of the consumer-based approach98 Seven brand approaches

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The customer-based brand equity framework also encompasses methods anddirections for measuring customer-based brand equity. These methods willconclude this section.Gathering data in the information-processing consumer perspectiveAs described in the sections on assumptions and theoretical building blocks, thetheories based on the cognitive consumer perspective tries to explain how stimulientered into the ‘computer’consumer are economically processed and then lead toa consumption choice. In order to map out these processes, two main categories ofmethods are applied; namely input–output and process-tracing approaches.Input–output methods are experiments where input factors are manipulated andthe change in the output of the process is then measured. These methods corre-spond to the if–then logic that is so fundamental to the cognitive consumerperspective. There are in effect no limits to which inputs can be altered in order totest output. The respondent can be presented to different advertising methods,consideration sets can be differentiated, different price information can be appliedto the same brand, etc. By testing consumer reactions to different inputs, the best(most predictable) marketing action can be planned.In the information-processing theory of consumer choice, choice is seen as aprocess following explainable paths in consumers’ minds. The process-tracingapproaches aim at understanding and explaining this process. They are attempts tomonitor the sequence of information acquired and the choices they lead to. Thereare many different ways of understanding this process, below are some examples:• Verbal protocols. The respondent thinks out loud during the performance of anactual task. For instance, a consumer goes shopping equipped with a voicerecorder. Thoughts are verbalized and recorded as they occur. In this fashion, theprocess of making a brand choice is recorded. For the researcher, this techniqueis rather time-consuming as he or she has to sort through large amounts of data.• A similar method is the prompted protocol. A consumer is (willingly) video-filmed during a shopping experience. After the shopping experience theconsumer comments on the video film, and thereby explains which decisionprocesses he or she went through during the shopping experience.• A matrix array is another way of understanding a choice process. Here, amatrix is constructed reflecting as many of the factoras possible, which areparts of a choice process. For example, the matrix can be constructed withbrands in rows and attributes in columns. In each case of the matrix therespondent can take an information card (e.g. the price of the Toyota on infor-mation card n, or the size of the engine of the Fiat on information card t; a fewexamples are provided in table 6.1). This method simulates the examination ofchoices a consumer goes through – one at the time – leading to the final choice.The consumer researcher will get as data the sequence of cards selected and theamount of information acquired before the consumer feels ready to commit toa choice. The data will contain rich information providing insight into centralThe consumer-based approach 99

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processes of choice and will answer questions like ‘How many informationcards are necessary before making a choice?’ ‘Which cards are the mostimportant?’ ‘Are some information cards revisited?’ ‘Which piece of infor-mation turns out to be the decisive one?’ Imagine the matrix in table 6.1 as amini-bookcase with information cards on the shelves. The respondents thenpick the cards necessary for reaching a consumption choice at their own pace.• Chronometric analysis is an analysis of response time. The cognitiveconsumer perspective is much occupied with understanding the pace ofmemory. In a chronometric analysis, the respondent is asked to completecertain tasks: answering questions or finding associations. The time it takes tocomplete these tasks is then measured. Mapping out the time between thepresentation of a stimulus and the response to that stimulus is beneficial inorder to understand the pace of memory as well as understanding how easilyassociations are retrieved (the ‘thickness’ of the links in figure 6. 5).These are some of the methods that can be applied when wanting to understand thechoice processes that take place in the mind of the ‘computer’ consumer.Customer-based brand equity can also be measured; how will be explained in theforthcoming section.Measuring customer-based brand equityThere is a direct and an indirect approach to measuring customer-based brandequity. For an optimal result, these two approaches should be complemented. Theindirect approach measures brand knowledge (brand awareness and brand image,figure 6.6) by assessing its sources (consumers’associations). The direct approachmeasures customer-based brand equity by measuring consumer responses to thebrand’s marketing actions.100 Seven brand approachesTable 6.1 A simple version of a matrix arrayColour Safety Price EngineVolkswagen Information Information Information Informationcard a: Black card f: 5 Euro card k card pNCAP starsFord Information Information Information Informationcard b: Grey card g: 4 Euro card l card qNCAP starsAudi Information Information Information Informationcard c Red card: 5 Euro card m card rNCAP starsToyota Information Information Information Informationcard d Green card i card n card sFiat Information Information Information Informationcard e Orange card j card o card t

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The indirect approach implies measuring customer-based brand equity withoutmeasuring it against something else. Here, the sources of brand knowledge andpattern of associations are identified through mapping out consumers’ brandknowledge. Keller recommends that several methods are applied in order tocapture as many aspects of customer-based brand equity as possible. Rememberthat associations are stored in the memory as different mental representations.Some methods are more suited for bringing out some representations than others.• Brand awareness is assessed through aided as well as unaided memory measures.To start with, is the brand name recognized? The brand should be correctlydiscerned by the consumer as previously seen or heard. Brand recall can be testedthrough testing which brand is ‘top of mind’ in a brand category. The brandshould be correctly identified given for instance a product category. Responsetimes for both recall and recognition can be measured in order to depict the easewith which the brand comes to mind, reflecting attitude strengths.• Brand associations can be captured in many ways. Free association tasks canbe performed either individually or in focus groups to lay out the associationmaps fundamental to the customer-based brand equity framework. Probing(in terms of asking ‘how’, ‘why’, ‘what’questions) and projective techniquescan be applied in order to help reluctant respondents along. Examples ofsuitable projective techniques are sentence completion, picture completion,and filling in speech balloons. Individual interviews can also be conducted inorder to understand the formation of associations.The consumer-based approach 101Box 6.4 Projective techniquesUsing projective techniques is a way to let the respondents’ unconsciousspeak. Respondents are assumed to hold things back in order to protect theirself-image in a research situation. When investigated by means ofprojective techniques, focus is moved away from the respondent and‘projected’ at hypothetical others. Thereby, respondents are supposed toopen up to the interviewer and actually reveal more about themselves than ifasked directly. Below are listed different projective techniques.• Sentence completion Respondents are presented with an unfinishedsentence and asked to complete it• Picture completion In the same fashion, respondents are asked tocomplete an unfinished picture• Speech balloonsAn empty speech balloon is filled out by the respondentThe sentences, the pictures and the drawings forming the backgrounds ofthe speech balloons should all carefully depict a situation that is relevant tothe brand in question.

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The direct approach to measuring customer-based brand equity implies measuringagainst the customer-based brand equity of other brands. Here, consumer reac-tions to the marketing strategies of the brand are compared with reactions to thesame strategies ascribed to a fictitious or unnamed brand. In these blind testscenarios, different elements of the marketing mix are compared between a namedbrand and an unnamed ‘rival’ brand. Any marketing element will do, for examplethe marketer can test perceptions of taste, feel, product quality, packaging andadvertising. The majority of these results show that the connotations of the knownbrand affect the perception of all marketing methods (negatively or positively).This comparative approach to measuring customer-based brand equity can be usedfor all kinds of marketing methods, but it is a challenge to secure valid results fromthese tests. Ideally, the whole sequence of mapping brand knowledge is performedin two or more simultaneous groups where group members are exposed to exactlythe same material. Remember that brand associations are mental representationsof all kinds of sensory input (figure 6.6) and the research design should thereforetry to accommodate the fact that some representations are more linguistic thanothers. The more abstract associations should also count as important data.SummaryBuilding on the if–then logic of cognitive psychology and the way choice is seenas an accurate process in the information-processing perspective, the methodsapplied to investigate the cognitive aspect of the consumer can be divided intoinput–output and process-tracing approaches. In the first category, input ischanged and changes in output are measured in order to capture how the human‘computer’works. In the latter approach, different choice scenarios are monitoredby means of (for example) verbal protocols, prompted protocols, and chrono-metric analysis.102 Seven brand approachesBox 6.5 Map out customers’ brand associations yourself• Start out by asking your respondents if they recognize the brand name.• In another respondent pool, ask which three brands come to mind whenyou mention the given product category or industry.• Ask your respondents to draw association maps.• Expose your respondents to an appropriate set of projective techniques(e.g. finishing sentences, filling out blank speech balloons).• Interview individual respondents and make them rate their associations.• Ask respondents what they consider to be unique about the brand.• Compare patterns of the results across as many respondents as possible.• Do the same routine with the brand’s closest competitors.• Now, compare the analyses in order to know exactly which associationsof your brand are the most strong, favourable and unique.Source Keller (1993)

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Measuring customer-based brand equity can be done indirectly as well asdirectly. Applying the indirect techniques, brand knowledge is mapped byconsumers. The results should be combined with direct comparative analyses ofthe brand and competing brands or through blind-testing marketing actionsagainst a fictitiously named or unnamed brand.Managerial implicationsIn the understanding assumptions section, we discussed the ownership of thebrand in the consumer-based approach, which implies that brand value creation ismeasured in the mind of the consumer, but the view of man behind the approachstill allows the idea of linear communication. This duality is reflected in the mana-gerial implications of the approach. One aspect of the implications is a seemingly‘all power to the people’ assumption, the other an assumption that the marketer isstill able to control (linear) communication.The first aspect requires closeness to the consumer. The marketer’s budgetshould prioritize constant market monitoring in order to be at the leading edge ofconsumers’ development. This ‘market sensing’ priority implies a functional ormarket-centred organizational form; – the consumer-based marketers mustpossess superior outside–in capabilities in order to succeed.The other aspect of the consumer-based approach is that the marketer shouldcreate the optimal brand communication in order to create the strongest brand. Themost skilled marketer is the best ‘programmer’. It is all about making the brandknown to consumers, making consumers pay attention to the brand by choosing theright brand elements, and positioning the brand through consistency in brandTheoryMethods and dataAssumptionsManagerial implicationsFigure 6.11 Methods and data of the consumer-based approachThe consumer-based approach 103

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communication. The marketer should also consider the brand a strategic corporatepriority and see all marketing actions as influencing the brand in the future.Therefore, step 2 in figure 6.12 leads to the need for a new step 1, and so on and soon. Finally, it should be considered if brand image is balanced with brand identity.Make consumers aware of your brandThe fact that the brand name ideally should spur high levels of awareness meansthat it is important to expose the consumer to the brand name repeatedly.Customer-based brand equity starts with brand awareness, building that meticu-lously is one of the important first steps to take when marketing a brand along theconsumer-based line of thought. In the section about the cognitive consumerperspective we mentioned that memory is assumed to be very durable. Asknowledge we store in memory tends to stay there for a very long time, repeatedexposure to a commercial message is considered very important. Perceptualenhancement of a concept can lead to permanent memory codes.Brand awareness might be the most important use of heuristics (the simplifyingstrategies) where consumers choose the well known brand because it facilitates thechoice process. The consumer seems to be willing to pay a premium price and acceptlower-qualitygoodsforthesamebrandifitisabrandwithhighawareness.Consumersdisplay a tendency to accept more advertising repetition by a familiar brand than froman unknown one and pioneering brands have tremendous advantages when it comes toconquering the permanent positive memory codes. So building the highest possibledegree of brand awareness or familiarity is crucial for a successful brand.When establishing brand awareness, the marketer might also pay some attentionto whether brand recognition or brand recall is the most important goal for the brandin question. The recall aspect is most important in high involvement categories andConsumerStep 1: The marketer findsthe brand components byasking consumer-based forbrand associationsMarketerConsumerStep 2: After having listened,the marketer is now able tocontrol (linear) brandcommunicationMarketerFigure 6.12 Dualistic mechanisms of the consumer-based approach influencing themanagerial implications104 Seven brand approaches

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when the purchase decision is made outside the store. When it comes to low-involvement categories and the purchase decision primarily is taken in-store, a highlevel of recognition might be enough. Here, the consumer does not need to be able torecall the brand in order to make a purchase decision. When a low-involvementbrand is recognized in the supermarket, it is often the one that gets chosen.Make consumers pay attention to your brandAfter meticulously having investigated and mapped brand associations, themarketer is equipped with the tools to choose the right brand elements. Themarketer has an exact overview of the types of association held in the minds ofconsumers, as well as the favourability, strength and uniqueness of the associa-tions. Hereby, the marketer is aware whether the consumer-based brand equity ispositive or negative.Equipped with this knowledge, the marketer is able to make a detailed strategyby having the answers to the following questions and many more: Which elementsare the most central? Which are strongest? Which are more unique? Which associ-ations lack in favourability? Hereafter, the marketer can accurately plan where tomake an effort and on which parameters the brand is strong enough. In this fashion,the marketer is able to create a detailed and well founded future work schedule.Some elements might require special attention. The marketer can organizeinvestigations of key elements in order to further fine-tune brand communicationto accommodate the mechanisms of the cognitive consumer. Box 6.6 providesinsight into the many considerations that might be taken into account beforechoosing the brand name. The right brand name is only one of the many importantelements a marketer has to decide.Box 6.6 Things to consider when choosing the right brand nameThe brand name is a very important brand element as it is most often the keynode activating the spreading activity in the associative network of brandknowledge. The brand name spurs brand awareness, which is the pre-requisite for talking about brand image and customer-based brand equity inthe first place.In Dimensions of Consumer Expertise researchers Alba and Hutchinson(1987) list things to consider when choosing the right brand name adjustedfor easy recognition.• The brand name should be easily read. Consumers scan shelf displaysrapidly when in a supermarket and do not take time to read carefullyeach name on display. In order to test the readability of a word, respon-dents can be exposed to the word extremely briefly or can be exposed toa name with letters missing.The consumer-based approach 105

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Position your brandIn the process of building customer-based brand equity it is also important toidentify the maximum level of congruence between brand associations.Congruence means that it is beneficial to build the communication platformaround the associations that are the most similar. Congruence among the differentbrand associations determines the cohesiveness of the brand image. A coherentbrand image facilitates the spreading activity in the mind of the consumer. In otherwords, the ‘computer’ is better able to process data it does not have to retrieve intoo many different places.The need for congruence is related to the question of heuristics in the infor-mation-processing theory of consumer choice. The consumer has a limitedprocessing capacity and lives in a world of a million commercial messages.Therefore, the consumer only pays attention to the incoming information thatcaptures attention and starts a relatively easy spreading activity.Consistency in communications is also a key aspect of the consumer-basedapproach. Once having established high brand awareness and the rightcongruent brand associations, it is assumed risky to change course. Theseaspects of the consumer-based approach share many characteristics with theidea of positioning (Ries and Trout 1983, 2001). This hugely popular theoryrests upon the same key assumptions about the human mind being a computerwith limited processing capabilities in an over-communicated society which iswhy the clever marketers are the ones repeating over and over again thecommercial messages that are fine-tuned to establish a lasting mental territoryfor the brand. This very important aspect of the consumer-based approach iswhat associates it with terms like Unique Selling Proposition, brand DNA,brand mantra, and ‘owning associations’.Marketing a brand according to the consumer-based approach also requiresidentifying the most relevant competition. As customer-based brand equity isdefined as being either positive or negative compared with competitors, there is• The brand name should be easily recognized. Studies show thatpseudo-words (nonsense) words are more difficult to recognize thanreal words (meaning something). But as the number of exposuresincreases the difference seems to diminish.• Consider a frequently used word as brand name. Frequently usedwords are more easily remembered than infrequently used words.Other criteria apply when it comes to recalling a brand name. The inquiringreader should turn to the original source, as the above list is by no meansexhaustive and meant only to indicate how many details the marketer can gointo when managing the brand in the consumer-based approach.Source Alba and Hutchinson (1987)106 Seven brand approaches

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essentially only one brand in each category with positive customer-based brandequity. In order for the marketer to make the most relevant brand strategy, it isworth while thinking about which competitors are the real threat and thenconducting the comparative analyses and formulating the brand strategy inrelation to them.An emphasis on strategyIn 1993, when the idea of customer-based brand equity was first put forward, itwas often difficult to distinguish between brand research and ad research. The ideaof brand management being a central area of interest in corporations seemed yearsaway. We have mentioned earlier that the publication of customer-based brandequity was extremely important in itself, and that it also had some valuable sideeffects, such as shedding light on the topic of brand equity and brand image.Furthermore, it lifted the brand to being a strategic priority and something else andmore than advertising. In the 1993 article Keller outlines specific managerialguidelines. The guidelines are explained in box 6.7 and their implications are thatthe brand should be managed in a continuous process, on a strategic level, andshould be conceived as much more than advertising.Box 6.7 Six managerial guidelines• Adopt a broad view of marketing decisions. Think in broad terms whenyou consider the many marketing actions and the many aspects ofbrand knowledge that can be activated and that could influence sales• Define the desired knowledge structures. The marketer should be razor-sharp when making a plan for which knowledge structures will be mostimportant to customers, and thus will build the stronger brand. Lookingat the filled-out association map, which parts of the knowledgestructure need the most attention?• Evaluate alternative tactical options regarding communicationchannels. Consider the whole spectrum of potential consumer touchpoints and activate them systematically so that they add to thecongruence and consistency of the chosen brand identity.• Take a long-term view of marketing decisions. Think ahead! Everymarketing action influences future marketing actions and, as theconsumer is supposed to have a very long memory, every action mayinfluence brand associations for a very long time.• Employ tracking studies over time. As all marketing actions are seen asa long chain of interrelated events influencing the brand, trackingstudies should be applied on a continuous basis. Here, gaps between theintended and the real brand knowledge can be detected and marketingactions can be adjusted.The consumer-based approach 107

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Balancing brand image with brand identityThe consumer-based approach is born and becomes influential over the samecourse of years as the identity approach. These two approaches are interesting tocompare as they are based on completely opposite perceptions of where the brandshould find its true nature, inspiration and energy. Because they are so opposite inassumptions, they illustrate each other’s weaknesses neatly. In the identityapproach, the brand is found inside the organization, and strategic force and inspi-ration hence stem from within the organization behind the brand. The mainproblem of managing a brand according to this approach is the risk of organiza-tional ‘narcissism’ and a lack of market sensing.It goes without saying that consumer-based management depends on superiorabilities when it comes to market sensing and customer knowledge. The mainproblem of managing the brand according to this approach is that the focus on theconsumer leads to a lack of organizational vision. Even though there is no doubtthat there is some truth in the assumption that the brand exists in the mind ofconsumer, the marketer should also consider that the process of listening only toconsumer associations is essentially backward-looking. Consumers relate toprevious marketing initiatives and hence are not visionary. Hereby, the vision forthe brand stemming from the brand corporation risks a lack of future perspective:‘Brand management is enacted as a tactical process of cyclical adaptation toconsumers’ representations of the focal brand whereby brand image graduallysupplants brand identity’ (Louro and Cunha 2003, p. 863).SummaryManaging a brand according to the principles of the consumer-based approachrequires acknowledging that the brand is something residing in the minds ofconsumers and that listening to consumers is a prerequisite for skilled brandmanagement. Still, the marketer is seen as in charge of communications as anassumption of linear communication applies to the cognitive consumer perspective.The marketer should start by making sure that consumers are sufficiently awareof the brand. Once an adequate level of brand awareness is obtained, brand imagehas to be communicated and the brand has to be positioned. The brand imageshould be built around the most relevant and congruent consumer associations.• Evaluate potential extension candidates.2Management ought toconsider and evaluate potential brand extensions in order to benefitfrom the obtained brand equity. The brand image of the main brandmay serve as an efficient information base for the new product. On theother hand, associations that differ too much between the main and theextended brand may damage the main brand severely.Source Keller (1993)108 Seven brand approaches

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The elements should be tested for their cognitive suitability before application tobrand image.The brand should be positioned through consistency in communications. Asmemory is believed to be very durable in cognition, permanent memory codes canbe obtained through remaining on the same course communications-wise.The consumer-based approach also implies that the brand should be a strategicpriority and all marketing actions should be seen as a long chain of events all influ-encing the brand image. The marketer might consider balancing the strong sides ofthe consumer-based approach with the strong sides of the identity approach asfounding the brand solely on consumer associations might lead to a lack of visionfor the brand.TheoryManagerialimplicationsAssumptionsMethods and dataFigure 6.13 Managerial implications of the consumer-based approachThe consumer-based approach 109Box 6.8 Do’s and don’ts in the consumer-based approachDo Don’tInquire consumer associations Don’t neglect the true owners of themeticulously brand (the consumers)Use consumers’ brand associations Don’t believe you can formulateto determine the content of the the brand strategy yourselfbrandFind congruency in brand Don’t apply a scatter-gun techniqueassociations

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Development of the consumer-based approach and later approachesAs mentioned in the introduction, the consumer-based approach has probablybecome the most dominant approach of the seven we present in this book.Therefore, we have chosen to round off this chapter with a few comments on theconsumer-based approach, how it has developed since the 1990s, how we presentit, and how other approaches define themselves against it.As mentioned in the introduction, it is our goal to present the roots of eachapproach, the founding publications and main theories, methods and data, and itsmanagerial implications. In each approach chapter we try to balance emphasis onthe roots with the newest development of the approach.Due to the fact that the consumer-based approach in many ways has developedinto the textbook treatment of brand management, the development of theapproach has moved in an all-encompassing direction. Therefore we have empha-sized the roots of the approach and somewhat neglected its further development.In this chapter we have spent the majority of our space introducing the readerto the quintessential cognitive brand and consumer perspective. It should,however, be noted that Keller has embraced the later approaches in his morerecent publications. The consumer-based approach is concerned with brandknowledge, and when you think of it, there is nothing that cannot be seen as partof consumers’ brand knowledge. In that way, all approaches of this book can beadded to brand knowledge.Keller and Lehmann (2003) claim that branding is all about understanding thecustomers’mindset. This mindset consists of five dimensions: awareness, associ-ations, attitudes, attachments and activity. The first three dimensions can berecognized as components of the customer-based brand equity framework. Thefourth dimension (attachment) is about loyalty and resistance to change. Thisdimension resembles the relational approach somewhat, while the latestdimension (that of activity) reminds us of the community approach, as it relatesto consumer interaction.In 2003 in Journal of Consumer Research Keller took stock of brandmanagement theory. J. Aaker’s work on brand personality (chapter 7), Fournier’sCommunicate brand image Don’t change brandconsistently communications too oftenThink ahead in brand Don’t think that there are marketingcommunications actions that will not affect the brandIdentify your real competitors Don’t forget your brand’s uniqueselling propositionConsider if listening to customers Don’t forget that closeness to thedrive your brand forwards in a market is your strongest asset.visionary fashion110 Seven brand approaches

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brand relationship theory (chapter 8), and Muñiz and O’Guinn’s conceptualizationof brand communities (chapter 9) are mentioned as important contributions to theacademic discipline. Still, they are added to the term ‘brand knowledge’.These studies and others similar in spirit are noteworthy for their ability to usenovel research methods to uncover overlooked or relatively neglected facetsof consumer brand knowledge that have significant theoretical and mana-gerial implications.(Keller 2003, p. 596)Looking at brand management from the cognitive perspective implies that every-thing can be added to brand knowledge. Keller, however, recognizes that he looksat the brand from a specific angle:it should be recognized that this essay presented a representation of brandknowledge based largely on cognitive psychology. Important perspectives onbranding and brand knowledge obviously can, and have been, gained fromother disciplinary viewpoints, for example, anthropological or ethnographicapproaches. Part of the challenge in developing mental maps for consumersthat accurately reflect their brand knowledge is how best to incorporatemultiple theoretical or methodological paradigms.(Keller 2003, p. 600)The consumer-based approach can thus be hard to negotiate with as brandknowledge can be said to be all-encompassing. As Keller states in the two above-mentioned examples, the new approaches can be added to brand knowledge, andin that sense you can say that the consumer-based approach suffices.One of the goals of this book is to deconstruct the field of brand managementseen from a perspective rooted in the philosophy of science. And in this context, itis necessary to regard the latter approaches as something more than merely neweradditions to brand knowledge. As we have mentioned in the section about thecognitive consumer perspective, the cognitive tradition deliberately neglectsemotional and cultural factors in its search for explanations of human behaviour.Later approaches embrace the emotional and cultural factors that the cognitivetradition neglects in their search for explanations of human behaviour. Therefore,the purpose of fitting all kinds of brand knowledge into the same mould instead ofunderstanding them separately can be questioned.However, it would make a great student assignment (go to student questionsbelow) to add the components of the personality, the relational, the community,and the cultural approach to the original map of consumer knowledge (figure 6.7).The significant influence of the consumer-based approach is difficult toevaluate. The seven approaches of this book represent profoundly different brandand consumer perspectives, some more compatible than others. Still, it is unusualthat one approach defines itself in opposition to another approach. But theconsumer-based approach seems to be more deliberately challenged than the otherThe consumer-based approach 111

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approaches. The challenges come from two sides: the relational approach (ofchapter 8) and the cultural approach (of chapter 10).The relational approach does not explicitly define itself in opposition to theconsumer-based approach. The relational approach, however, is influenced byphenomenology, which is a scientific and philosophical tradition stressing the‘inner reality’ of consumers. In the world of brand management and consumerresearch the phenomenological view of the world defines itself in opposition to theinformation-processing view (see table 8.2). Thereby, the consumer-based and therelational approach represent very different points of departure when it comes tounderstanding the consumer and managing the brand.The cultural approach (or its most important author, Douglas B. Holt) is muchmore explicit in his critique of the consumer-based approach. Holt defines fourdifferent branding models (see table 11.3) and stresses ‘the mindshare model’(comparable to the consumer-based approach) as the dominant one. The culturalapproach is then neatly formulated as a viable alternative to the consumer-basedapproach stressing its Achilles heel of emphasizing consistency in communi-cation. In the cultural approach the brand is seen as a cultural artefact influencedby changes in time and culture (see a comparison between the two brandingmodels/brand approaches in table 10.1).112 Seven brand approachesComments from the ‘founding fathers’ (2)The value of consumer-based approaches to the study of branding andbrand managementKevin Lane Keller, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth CollegeWithout question, branding is a complex management area that deservesstudy from a variety of different perspectives and academic traditions. Byproviding a multidisciplinary approach, this book provides a welcome andinvaluable resource for thoughtful students, scholars, and practitioners whowant to fully understand branding and brand management.This chapter introduced some of the key tenets of the consumer-basedapproach. As any good brand researcher will admit, any approach to thestudy of branding and brand management will have its advantages anddisadvantages. Part of the power of a consumer-based approach is that itsquarely focuses on the consumer as being at the heart of brand equity.Consumer-based approaches, if properly invoked and interpreted, areextremely versatile and can provide detailed insights as to how consumersmake all kinds of brand-related choices.Consumer-based approaches capitalize on the numerous research andindustry advances in the study of consumer behaviour – how consumers think,feel, and act towards brands, products, services, companies, other consumers,and so on. Consumer-based approaches can provide the foundation for how

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Student questions1 Which psychological tradition is associated with the consumer-based approach?2 What is the most important metaphor for man in this tradition?3 The brand ‘ownership’can be said to be of an ambiguous nature. Describe theambiguity.and why consumers forge relationships with brands and form communitieswith others; how culture is manifested in consumer consumption behaviour;and how brands take on meaning that transcends physical products andservices and strict service specifications.As a note of caution, it is important to not narrowly view consumer-basedapproaches in terms of just information processing models. Although suchmodels can be extremely useful to understand how consumers learn aboutbrands and how that knowledge, in turn, affects how they respond to anyaspect of marketing, researchers adopting a consumer-based approach to thestudy of branding and brand management have successfully introduced oradapted many other concepts related to non-cognitive issues and concerns.The best consumer-based researchers recognize that branding and brandmanagement are an art and science and that the strongest brands have achievedtheir success by being able to affect consumers both in their head and in theirheart. Like the best marketing practitioners, consumer-based researchers adopta broad view of how to think about consumers and strive to keep abreast of keycultural trends that suggest new areas of consumer behavior to study.In my own research I have found that focusing on consumer brandknowledge structures provides a comprehensive, cohesive foundation foranalysis and a common denominator by which many different topics andissues can be addressed. Fundamentally, the question becomes: how doesany marketing action or any other event or trend that occurs in the market-place affect how consumers think, feel and act about brands? Definingcustomer-based brand equity as the ‘differential effect that brand knowledgehas on how consumers respond to marketing activity’ has allowed me toconceptualize sources and outcomes of brand equity in great detail andprovide specific managerial guidelines based on this conceptualization.With a consumer-based approach, concepts, theories and findings fromdiverse areas such as learning, memory, emotions, behavioural decisiontheory, and consumer decision making – to name just a few – can all bebrought to bear to better understand how brands should be optimally builtand managed. With such dramatic changes in the marketing environmentdue to increased globalization, technological advances, environmentalconcerns and many other factors, the power of the consumer-basedapproach to flexibly apply a variety of conceptual tools to address a varietyof managerial concerns in brand management is truly invaluable.The consumer-based approach 113

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7 The personality approachwith a commentary by Adjunct Professor Joseph Plummer, Columbia BusinessSchoolLearning objectivesThe purpose of this chapter is to:Understand the assumptions of the personality approach• The personality approach assumes that personality traits are importantdrivers of emotional bonding between brand and consumerUnderstand the theoretical building blocks of the personality approach• The personality approach has three supporting themes: personality,consumer self and brand–self congruence• The personality approach draws on theory from psychology about thecategorization of human personality• The personality construct can, in interplay with consumer expression ofself, be a driver of strong consumer–brand relationshipsGain insights into the methods of the personality approach• Gain an overview of the mix of qualitative and quantitative methodsthat can be used to uncover brand personality• Get an introduction to scaling techniques used in the personalityapproachUnderstand the managerial implications• Understand how a brand personality can be created and managed byusing direct and indirect sources of brand personality

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In 2006 Apple launched the first of three new television advertisements for Maclaptops. A young man dressed in casual clothes introduces himself as a Mac (‘Hi, Iam a Mac’). An older, more conservative-looking man enters the scene, intro-ducing himself as PC. The two, clearly very different personalities, act out a briefvignette in which the capabilities and attributes of ‘Mac’ and ‘PC’ are compared.The PC is represented as a formal and stuffy person overly concerned with work –often being frustrated by the superior abilities of the more laid-back Mac. The two,the casual Mac and the more uptight PC, discuss some of the everyday difficultiesof the PC and how the Mac does not have these problems. The Mac personalityversus the PC personality is an example of a brand that takes the theoretical possi-bilities of the personality approach literally, using the brand personality to positionand differentiate the brand against other brands in the same product category.Consumers automatically ascribe personality to brands. This process is a centralaspect of consumers’ symbolic consumption and construction of self. The person-ality approach in brand management hence focuses on how and why peoplechoose brands with certain personalities and how imbuing brands with personalitythus can be a powerful tool to create and enhance brand equity. The assumptions,theories and methods of the personality approach borrow from the academic fieldsof human psychology, personality research and consumer behaviour.Understanding consumers’ attraction to brand personalities has for long been anarea of interest in consumer behaviour research, where research has focused onhow brand personality enables consumers to express ‘self’ through the symbolicuse of brand personality. In a brand management context, practitioners haveviewed brand personality primarily as a way to differentiate the brand from otherbrands in the same product category; as a driver of consumer preference; and as acommon denominator that can be used across different national cultures. Severalinteresting and groundbreaking research articles have been published, but onearticle in particular can be said to have stirred the pot and set new agendas:‘Dimensions of brand personality’ (Jennifer Aaker 1997) presented a whole newtheoretical framework and method for working with brand personality that hassince been validated and expanded by several studies. This chapter offers anoverview of the personality approach by providing insights into the assumptions,key theoretical elements and methodologies underlying the personality approach.Finally, this chapter describes and discusses the managerial guidelines that can beaccumulated from the literature, supplemented with cases describing howcompanies can manage brand personality in practice.Assumptions of the personality approachPrevious approaches in brand management have placed the Four Ps, the identityof the corporation, or the consumer at the heart of brand equity creation (respec-tively the economic approach in chapter 4, the identity approach in chapter 5, andthe consumer-based approach in chapter 6). In the personality approach, it isassumed that consumers’need for identity and expression of self is a key driver ofthe consumption of a brand. This is why consumers, apart from the physical andThe personality approach 117

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functional characteristics of a brand, also consume brands due to the symbolicbenefits they can provide.As a result, the symbolic nature of brands can be understood at the same level asthe utilitarian nature of brands, which tends to be captured by models that aregeneralizable across product categories (e.g., multi-attribute model; FishbeinandAjzen 1975). Therefore, like the multi-attribute model, which sheds insightinto when and why consumers buy brands for utilitarian purposes, a cross-category framework and scale can provide theoretical insights into when andwhy consumers buy brands for self-expressive purposes.(Aaker 1997, p. 348)Furthermore, it is assumed that if these symbolic benefits are expressed byimbuing the brand with a human-like character, then the brand will bestrengthened significantly. A strong and attractive brand personality can, if wellexecuted, serve as an important source of differentiation and brand power. Brandpersonality is an efficient driver of emotional bonding between brand andconsumer because consumers bond with and act on brands with a brand person-ality to a greater extent than they do with brands that do not have a personality. Thereason is that consumers ‘see’ themselves in the personality of the brand and canhence use the brand in their construction of identity and self. The more consumersperceive the brand personality as a reflection of own personality, the stronger thebrand personality and brand. The function of a brand personality is, however, notlimited to consumers’ personal inward use as a source of construction of self.Brands with an attractive brand personality are also chosen and consumed due totheir outward symbolic signalling value. The use of brand personality as asymbolic signal or source for self construction can be based on the brand person-ality itself or the personality of the ideal/actual users of a brand. The personalityapproach hence places the personality of the brand and the personality of itsstereotypical or ideal user at the heart of brand management.The basic assumptions regarding the brand in the personality approach are ones ofa reciprocal and human-like exchange between brand and consumer. As depicted infigure 7.1, brands are endowed with human-like personalities, which are activated ina continuous reciprocal, dialogue-based exchange between brand and consumer.In the personality approach, the emotional bond between the brand and theconsumer is hence strengthened significantly if the brand has an attractive andrelevant brand personality. For consumers, brands with a brand personality arehence appealing because they serve as a mean of construction of and expression ofself. For companies brand personality can serve as an important source of differen-tiation, positioning, and a tool to build emotional bonds with consumers.The personality perspectiveThe personality approach draws on theories and insights from, respectively, thefields of human psychology and consumer behaviour research. From human118 Seven brand approaches

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psychology the personality approach borrows theory about different categoriza-tions of human character in theories about human personality dimensions andtraits. From consumer behaviour research, it is knowledge about how consumersuse brands in their construction and expression of self that is in play. The primaryfunction of the brand is hence in this approach to express a personality thatconsumers can relate to and use for their own construction and expression of self.The subjects of analysis are respectively brand personality and consumer self,hence the brand relates to the individual consumers and is used by the individual –though also used to express social identity for others.In human psychology, personality is perceived as the pattern in which indi-viduals can be divided according to how they fairly consistently react to differentenvironmental situations. In a brand management context, the construct of brandpersonality refers to ‘the set of human characteristics associated with a brand’(Aaker 1997, p. 347). The personality traits associated with a brand are assumed tobe enduring, distinct and stable. The self-expressive value and the distinctivenessof the brand personality influence the attractiveness and the potential strength ofthe brand in general. In consumer behaviour research, it has long been acknowl-edged that consumers use brands for symbolic consumption and as means toexpress themselves by selecting brands with a particular brand personality. Theextent to which consumers are able to use the specific brand as a point of referencefor their own construction and signalling of identity lays the basis for differenti-ation of the brand from other brands in the same category. The level of consumers’identification with the personality of the brand determines the degree to which theconsumers evaluate the brand as suitable or not for their own self-expression andconstruction of identity. Hence, a really powerful and differentiated brand (in theline of thinking behind this approach) is perceived by the consumer as a brand thatcontributes to the consumer’s construction and expression of self. For theHumanPersonalityConsumerself-expressionBrandpersonalityFigure 7.1 Brand personality constructThe personality approach 119

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company, the brand personality is hence a source of differentiation as well as adriver of loyalty. The brand personality construct enables companies to imbueintangible symbolic cues into the ‘behaviour’ and communication of the brand.These symbolic cues enhance consumers’ attraction to and relation with the brandand hence serve as an important driver of competitive advantage and brand loyalty.The ‘brand–consumer exchange’The personality approach introduces a strong emotional bond between the brandand the consumer, based on consumers’use of the brand personality for the inwardconstruction and outward expression of self. The nature of the brand–consumerexchange in the personality approach is interactive and dyadic, and revolvesaround the exchange of symbolic benefits. These symbolic benefits (the brandpersonalities) are evaluated by the consumer based on the extent to which theycontribute to their construction and expression of identity. The brand–consumerexchange in the personality approach is perceived to take place between one brandand one consumer. The focus is hence like in the previous approaches individualand the nature of the relation is dyadic. It is this symbolically charged interactionbetween the brand and the consumer that motivates consumers to choose onebrand over another. Because a brand personality sets off a process of social identi-fication between the brand and the self of the consumer, it is assumed in thepersonality approach that the fulfilment and expression of self is one of thestrongest basic driving forces that predispose consumers to act on and consumebrands. The personality of the brand generates attention and interest fromconsumers, who feel that they can use the symbolic benefits of the brand in theirconstruction and expression of self. In reverse, the stereotypical consumer of apersonality-based brand also affects the evolution of the personality of the brand.The creation of brand personality is a dynamic cyclical process that sets off fromthe company and then in an interactive process between consumer and brandcreates and enhances a certain brand personality. Consumers evaluate a brandpersonality based on their observations of the brand behaviour over time. Theseevaluations add up to a general assessment of the brand and of its role as a rela-tionship partner. The logic is hence that the greater congruity there is betweenhuman personality characteristics and the consumers’ actual or ideal self, thegreater will be consumer preferences for that brand.SummaryIn the personality approach, human personality and consumers identityconstruction as well as expression is the pivotal point of brand equity creation. It isthe symbolic benefits a brand can provide to consumers expressed through a certainbrand personality that are assumed to be the key drivers of brand strength. The levelof analysis is the individual consumer and the subject of analysis is consumer selfand identity. The main function of the brand is not to provide utilitarian attributesand benefits as in the economic approach, but to enable consumers’ construction120 Seven brand approaches

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and expression of self by providing symbolic signal value. The strength of thebrand is determined by the extent to which there is congruity between the brandpersonality and the personality or self of the consumer.Theoretical building blocks of the personality approachIn this section the key constructs of the personality approach and their interrelationwill be explained. The key constructs of brand personality provide the theoreticalbuilding blocks and draw on three supporting themes: personality, expression of selfand congruence between brand personality and consumer self. The personalityconstruct has its origin in theory from cognitive and social psychology about humanpersonality. Consumers’construction and expression of self are widely studied in thefield of consumer behaviour, but it also borrows from the field of psychology aboutthe construction of identity. The last supporting theme, brand-self congruence, isderived from the field of social psychology and focuses on the social identificationprocess consumers engage in with the brands they consume. The three supportingthemes in the personality approach are all enhanced to fit into the context of brandmanagement and provide theoretical input to the core theme – brand personality.Supporting theme: personalityThe concept of personality has its origin in the field of human psychology. Thepersonality is one of the most significant manifestations of a human being’s self-concept and has since the 1930s been an area of research in human psychology.The personality construct in human psychology focuses on the development ofAssumptionsTheoryMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 7.2 Assumptions of the personality approachThe personality approach 121

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frameworks for the categorization of human beings according to their personality.These frameworks define people according to different personality types definedby certain personality traits. It hence assumes that personality traits describeinternal characteristics of human beings from which their behaviour in differentsituations can be predicted and explained. Personality traits can be described withadjectives like e.g. ‘talkative’, ‘organized’, ‘imaginative’ or ‘responsible’. Thereare several theoretical frameworks used in the field of psychology for the catego-rization of personalities, but one of the more common is the framework of the ‘BigFive’. This framework reduces the number of adjectives describing humanpersonalities to five dimensions, representing the five overriding personalitiesaccording to which human beings can be categorized. If a brand is high on extro-version, then the brand behaviour, reflected in the personality traits, will be talk-ative, active, energetic and outgoing (see figure 7.4).This framework hence presumes that the extent to which a person is extrovert oremotionally stable can determine or predict how that person will react to differentsituations. The Big Five framework hence provides a framework for classifyingand categorizing human beings according to descriptors of human personality.The personality of human beings not only determines how they will react todifferent situations or behave in general, it also influences how humans are able toconnect with other human beings and the role that people with different personal-ities play in relationships between two or more people.Supporting theme: consumer selfHuman beings attach meaning to possessions because we regard possessions aspart of ourselves. The meaning consumers attach to possessions is key in theunderstanding of consumption patterns and the drivers that motivate consumers’Brand personalitySupporting theme:Consumer selfSupporting theme:Brand-self congruenceSupporting theme:PersonalityFigure 7.3 Supporting themes of the personality approach122 Seven brand approaches

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contributors to the extended self fluctuate over time. Consumers hence neglectold possessions and seek new ones when the possessions no longer fit theconsumers’ actual or ideal self images. Even though consumers’ needs formaterial possessions decrease with age, the need to define and express ourselvesthrough possessions remains high throughout life.It seems an inescapable fact of modern life that we learn, define, and remindourselves of who we are by our possessions…. Our accumulation of posses-sions provides a sense of past and tells us who we are, where we have comefrom, and perhaps where we are going.(Belk 1988, p. 160)Apart from using possessions to enhance a sense of self, consumers also usepossessions to express self to others. Consumers use brands to define themselvesto others, demonstrate group affiliation or to tell the story of who they are andwhat they stand for. Consumers’ self is structured in terms of two dimensions:• Attributes. A person can be tall, lucky or can appreciate family values.• Narratives. The attributes are linked to key events in life structured as stories.Consumers use brands to play out their personal stories about their lives and iden-tities, positioning themselves in relation to culture, society and other people.Objects or brands that people love are particularly important for the creation andmaintenance and expression of self. ‘Loved objects serve as indexical mementosof key events or relationships in the life narrative, help resolve identity conflicts,and tend to be tightly embedded in a rich symbolic network of associations’(Ahuvia 2005, p. 179).Layers of consumer selfThe consumer self construct (figure 7.5) is rather complex because the self refersto self on different levels. Objects can contribute to the construction of self ontwo levels. At the individual level, objects are consumed because they carry asymbolic significance for the consumer in relation to the creation and mainte-nance of self. Other consumption objects contribute to the social level of self –that is, the expression of self to others. Hence, the consumption of objects as asource of self can stem from consumers’ need to create and maintain self at anindividual level. This symbolic consumption of objects can also serve to expressself to others at a more social group level. In the research literature, these levelsare often referred to as the independent (individual) self and interdependent(social) self. The independent self consist of two categories of self, the actual andthe desired self. The actual self is the objective representation of self – the waythe self actually is. The desired self is a representation of something that theconsumer would like to become, and finally the ideal self represents theconsumer’s perception of their own ideal self.124 Seven brand approaches

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Brands contribute to the construction of self in various ways. They can helpconsumers achieve goals motivated by the desired self, meet needs for self-expression either socially or individually (the ideal self), or serve as a tool forconnecting with the past; they can be symbols of personal achievement, anexpression of individuality, or they can help people through life transitions. Theself-expressive value and the distinctiveness of the brand personality have asignificant effect on how attractive the brand personality is, as perceived by theconsumer. But the self-expressive value is far more important than the distinc-tiveness. The self-expressive value of a brand personality depends on the level ofconsistency between the brand personality and the self-image of the consumer –the brand–self congruence. The third supporting theme of the personalityapproach is hence the construct of social identification between brand andconsumer. In the academic literature this concept is often referred to as thebrand–self congruence.Brand–self congruenceWhen consuming a brand with a brand personality, consumers engage in amatching process to identify brands that are congruent with their own self images.This process is here referred to as brand–self congruence. The brand–selfcongruence construct has its origin in the concept of social identification from thefield of psychology. This construct proposes that consumer behaviour is deter-mined partly by the consumer’s comparison of their own perception of self (eitherindividual actual, ideal, or desired self, or their social out-group or in-group self asillustrated in figure 7.5) and the personality of the brand (because consumers tendto choose brands with a brand personality close to that of their own self). Self doesnot necessarily refer to the actual self; the brand personality can also be congruentwith the ideal or desired self of the consumer. Depending on the function of thebrand for either construction or expression of self, consumers use brand personal-ities in relation to self in two ways on an individual level. They either try to preserveDesiredselfIdealselfActualselfOutgroup IngroupIndependent/individual Interdependent socialConsumer selfFigure 7.5 Consumer self constructThe personality approach 125

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their own self-concept by consuming brands with a personality matching theiractual self, or they use the symbolic consumption of brand with a certain person-ality to enhance their self-concept, by consuming brands with a personality that iscongruent with their ideal or desired self. Consumers can, however, also use thebrands as an expression of social self, where the brand is used to position theconsumer according to social or cultural reference groups in society. Using brandpersonality to enhance the ideal of desired self is an expression of the aspirationsand dreams of the consumer that the brand can help them fulfil.126 Seven brand approachesBox 7.1 Oil of Olay: female consumers’ hopes and dreamsDeep insight into consumer motivation and self-brand relations is crucialwhen developing brand personality. In 1985 Joseph Plummer made aninvestigation of consumers’ associations with the Oil of Olay brand thatcould be used to describe the brand personality of Oil of Olay. The resultwas rather surprising and illustrates well how brands can appeal not only tothe actual self of consumers but also to the desired or ideal self ofconsumers. Consumers were asked to associate how they would describeOil of Olay with other abstract descriptions, apart from it being a lotion.Consumers associated Oil of Olay with:• An animal: a mink.• Country: France.• Occupation: secretary.• Fabric: silk.• Magazine: Vogue.These associations brings to mind a French secretary wearing mink and silkreading Vogue while relaxing somewhere on the French Riviera. Thiselegant woman uses Oil of Olay every morning and evening to stay beau-tiful. The stereotypical user of Oil of Olay at the time had a personality farfrom the personality consumer associated with the Oil of Olay brand. Shecould be described as:• Down-to-earth.• Practical.All in all, very different from the personality described as the personality ofOil of Olay, which was described as more up-scale, exclusive and sophisti-cated. These differences illustrate very well how some brands in theircommunication must address not necessarily the actual self of the stereo-typical consumer but rather the desired or ideal self.Adapted from Plummer (1985)

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In brand management, the process of social identification is used to measure howwell the brand personality matches the consumer’s self image. Brand cues thatevoke certain images of prestige and luxury activate a sensation and expression ofhigh status. When consumers consume brands with a certain personality, amatching process takes place to determine whether the brand cues are consistentwith the self images of the consumer. Or consumers adopt imaginary stereotypicalusers of a brand and then select the brands that match their own actual or desiredself. The process of social identification depends on how the symbolic value of thebrand is used by the consumer – what symbolic need the brand fulfils for theconsumer. Consumers use brand personalities at a social or an individual level. Asalready mentioned, at the social level, brand personality serves to signal belongingto certain social groupings or subcultures. In that case, consumers reject brandsand brand meaning that are not consistent with the references and images of thereference group the consumer is or would like to be a part of and use brands thatare in accordance with their aspirations.3At the individual level, the brand canfulfil a need from the independent self to differentiate from groups of people andthereby demonstrate individual image and self.The development of self congruence using brand personality is a dynamic two-way process. Consumers who prefer a particular brand because of its personalityendow and influence the brand personality with their own self and symbolicsignalling, strengthening or weakening the brand personality. To ensure that thisprocess will strengthen and not weaken the brand personality, it is essential for thebrand manager to ensure that the brand personality appeals to the right consumersand that their consumption of the brand underpins the existing personality of thebrand. Getting this process right will consolidate and enhance the brand person-ality in the long run. Selecting and appealing to the right group of consumers canhence strengthen the brand, whereas attracting the ‘wrong’ group of consumerscan devaluate the brand personality and undermine the credibility of the brand.The interaction between the brand and the consumer can hence be described as acyclical process, either strengthening or weakening the brand.Congruence between self and brand personality positively affects brandloyalty directly and indirectly through functional congruity, productinvolvement and brand relationship quality. This underpins the paramountimportance of self–brand congruence, not only in the battle to attract and appealto certain groups of consumers, but also for the long-term nurturing ofbrand–consumer relations, consumer-brand loyalty, and in the efforts to createthe right brand personality.Core theme: brand personalityBrand personality refers to both the personality endowed in the brand by thecompany and the brand personality perceived by consumers. One aspect of brandpersonality is hence what the company wants the consumer to think and feel aboutthe brand, the other is what consumers perceive (and the two are not necessarilythe same).The personality approach 127

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The personality statement (the communication goals the company has for thebrand) must be reflected in the brand personality and serve as the guiding platformfor the creation and enhancement of the brand in the long run. The personalitystatement delivers important input to the creative strategy.The other side of the brand personality construct is what consumers actuallyfeel about the brand. How much does the brand personality appeal to consumerself and motivate consumers to choose the specific brand because of the symbolicbenefits they can derive from the brand personality? The three supporting themesof the personality approach cover, respectively:• Personality. Theory from psychology provides a framework for endowingbrands with a relevant personality.• Consumer self. How consumers use brands to construct self and the differentlayers of self that the brand manager must be aware of.• Brand self congruence. Describes how the congruity between the consumer’sself and the brand determines how strong the brand personality can grow.In 1997 Jennifer Aaker published the first research-based conceptualization of thepersonality construct in a brand management context. The outcome of her researchwas published in the article ‘Dimensions of brand personality’ (in Journal ofMarketing Research). Her conceptualization of the personality construct builds onthe theoretical and methodological frameworks from psychology, mentionedabove, about the categorization of people according to the salience of differentpersonality dimensions. It focuses on investigating if and how the categorizationof human personalities from psychology also applies to brands. Aaker made anextensive investigation with the aim of identifying which personality traits peopleassociate with a wide range of brands. Aaker came to the conclusion that it isBrand personalitySymbolic brand valueAdds personality and symbolic valuePersonality ofstereotypicalconsumerFigure 7.6 The brand–self exchange of symbolic brand value in the market place128 Seven brand approaches

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possible to transfer the idea of personality dimensions from human personalitypsychology to brands and brand management. The study resulted in the Big Fiveof brand management (the five dimensions of brand personality) (see figure 7.8).They describe the five major groupings of personalities consumers associate withbrands and conclude that brands, in the same way humans have a unique person-ality, are perceived as having unique and distinct brand personalities. The fivegroupings of personalities have, in complementary research following the Aakerstudy, indicated that these five personalities apply, not only in the United States,where the study was originally made, but have also proved to be valid in otherWestern cultures. In Latin and Asian cultures, however, there seem to be somevariations in how the different personality dimensions are rated (Aaker et al. 2001;Sung and Tinkham 2005)The personality traits describe the characteristics that people associate witheach brand personality dimension. These traits should ideally be reflected in theattributes of the brand or/and in the ‘behaviour’ of the brand. From the consumerperspective, the brand personality can be uncovered by exploring what consumersassociate with the brand. From the company perspective, it can be uncovered byanalysing the product-related attributes like brand name, logo, communicationstyle, price, distribution, etc. All these elements add up to the brand personality.Apart from the more product-specific attributes, the brand personality is alsoreflected in the characteristics attributed to the brand and in the associations,symbolic values and emotional responses to the brand or the emotional rela-tionship with the brand. For a brand personality to be successful, it must beconsistent and durable.Astrong and consistent brand personality can lure people to consume that brandbecause they feel personally associated with the brand personality. If the attributesor behaviour of the brand (marketing activities) are not consistent with the brandpersonality, consumers are likely to abandon the brand because the personalityloses credibility. From the marketing perspective, brand personality is closelyBrand–selfcongruencePersonalityConsumer selfCore Theme:Brand personalityFigure 7.7 Core theme of the personality approach: brand personalityThe personality approach 129

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related to and an important driver of brand identity and is a useful managementtool that can be used to benchmark brand personality within or across productcategories. The brand personality framework can be used to materialize abstract,intangible brand ideas and provide direction for the implementation of the brandidea in the user imagery, advertising and more product-related aspects like pack-aging. Succeeding in developing and implementing a strong, attractive and uniquebrand personality increases consumer preferences and evokes consumer emotionsand bonding with the brand. This increases the level of trust and loyalty betweenbrand and consumer. A key reason why brand personality can be such an effectivetool for brand management is that consumers consume brands as a means in theiridentity construction projects – brands are important for consumers’ constructionand expression of self. The brand personality construct and consumers’expressionof self are hence closely related. The framework of Aaker is the most up-to-dateconceptualization of a personality framework for brand management, because itreflects the most recent insights into the mechanisms of human personality andbrand personalities.In practice, other theoretical frameworks and foundations for imbuing person-ality into brands have been widely used. The effectiveness of these tools andmethods are, however, not supported by an extensive study like the Aakerframework. Theory about archetypes and narrative structures is an example ofthese alternative foundations for brand personality tools that have been widelyused, especially by advertising agencies, to build a brand platform or personality.SincerityExcitementCompetenceSophisticationRuggednessBrand PersonalitydimensionsDown to earth, honest,wholesome, cheerfulDaring, spirited,imaginative, up-to-dateReliable, intelligent,successfulUpper class, charmingOutdoorsy, toughDominant personalitytraitsFigure 7.8 Dimensions of brand personality130 Seven brand approaches

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Theory about archetypes represents a more deterministic and predeterminedperspective on the drivers of human behaviour than the personality constructpresented in this chapter because it bases the drivers of human consumption onuniversal predetermined behavioural patterns latent in all human beings.The personality approach 131Box 7.2 Archetypes and brand personalityCarl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist. He pioneered the theory aboutarchetypes based on extensive psychological studies in the early 1900s. Jungbuilt the theoretical notions of archetypes on an idea that all human beingsshare a collective unconscious. This collective unconscious defines us at apsychological level like DNAcodes define us at a microscopic physical level.The collective unconscious is the root of our communication and consists ofpsychological codes that transcend time. The collective unconscious is,according to Jung, ‘“identical in all men and thus constitutes a commonpsychic substrate of suprapersonal nature which is present in every one of us”.This collective unconscious act as a communal well in the mind filled withpsychic content that we all share’ (‘The archetypes and the collective uncon-scious’, pp. 3–41 in K. Wertime, Building Brands and Believers, 2002, p. 60)Archetypes are believed to be the basic mechanisms and source codes thatenable people to communicate and connect at a rudimentary subconsciouslevel. These codes are believed to be static, universal and deeply rooted in thehuman psyche. Jung further believed that the unconscious level of the humanpsyche is an active agent in people’s lives and a significant factor that shapeseveryday actions. Archetypes are expressions of the patterns of fundamentalpsychic content that we all share and are related to instinctively. They covera range of basic elements in the human psyche like evil, happiness, heroicand maternal feelings. In religion and culture archetypical expressions havebeen used for millennia to express universal truths.In brand management, archetypical patterns can, according to Mark andPearson (2001), provide fundamental, timeless and universal referencepoints, by using symbols and images tapping into the unconscious. In thatway brand managers can ensure brands achieve symbolic significance forall consumers because they address the archetypical level of unconsciouspatterns that we all share. Mark and Pearson’s framework for working witharchetypes in brand management consists of twelve archetypical personal-ities. These twelve archetypes are believed to be able to fulfil different,subconscious, archetypical needs for consumer:Basic archetypical need• Stability and control, and need to feel safe• Belonging and enjoyment and a need to love and feel part af a community• Risk and mastery and a need to achieve and perform well• Independence and fulfilment and a need to find harmony and happiness

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SummaryThe theoretical building blocks of the personality approach consist of the threesupporting themes: personality, consumer self, and consumer–self congruence.Personality describes the basic concept of personality that the personalityapproach draws on from the field of human psychology, characterizing the mainpersonalities that human beings can be categorized according to. The concept ofself describes how consumers consume and choose brands based on their ability tocontribute to their construction and expression of self. The construct of brand–selfcongruence describes the process of identification that takes place between thepersonality of a brand and the personality of the consumer and establishes that thegreater the congruence between the personality of the brand and the personality ofthe consumer the more likely is that brand personality to succeed. The core themeof the personality approach is brand personality. The framework ‘Dimensions ofbrand personality’ developed by Aaker (1997) consists of five dimensions thatbrands can be divided according to and an explanation of how these dimensionscan be expressed in the communication of a brand personality by emphasizingcertain traits or behaviours.Methods and data of the personality approachThe methods and data used in the personality approach vary, depending on what thefocus of the study is. For the research of brand personality, the mainly quantitativemethod developed byAaker (1997) has gained support and has been widely used touncover dimensions of brand personality, also across different national cultures.Archetypical personality• Creator • Hero• Caregiver • Outlaw• Ruler • Magician• Jester • Innocent• Regular girl/guy • Explorer• Lover • SageA brand imbued with archetypical meaning is believed to enhance thecreation of emotional affinity, which makes way for the rational argumentsfor buying a product. In the personality approach archetypical symbols arethe meaning used as the path opener between brands and consumers. Get aDonna Karan dress and feel like a queen or see the Christmas ads fromCoca-cola and feel the innocence. Archetypes mediate between productsand customer motivation by providing symbolic meaning. Archetypicalmeaning hence makes brands come to life and ensures that consumers canrelate to the product or brand on an emotional level.Source Mark and Pearson (2001)132 Seven brand approaches

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But research into the correlation between brand personality and consumers’expression of self and other more in-depth research dominates this approach.Research of brand personality and consumers’expression of self in the personalityapproach is conducted using a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods.Quantitative methods are used for categorizing and uncovering brand personalityand for the study of consumers’ self expression through brand personality; thefocus is on rich and descriptive qualitative data. Qualitative data are necessary inorder to gain understanding of the complex nature of consumer self and how itaffects consumption patterns and ultimately how brand personality can be used toenhance consumers’ expression of self. The methods in the personality approachhence vary from the very quantitative statistical studies of brand personality at oneend of the scale to longitudinal field studies of brand personality and consumerexpression of self at the other extreme.Quantitative methods for researching brand personalityInvestigating brand personality takes place in a cross-field between psychologyand consumer research. In psychology, quantitative methods dominate, whileconsumer research methods are becoming increasingly qualitative. The aim ofquantitative methods is, simply put, reducing ambiguity by transformingperceptions into structured quantifiable categories – or, as in the case ofmethods for studying brand personality, reducing consumers’ perceptions ofhow a brand can be characterized, described and perceived as a personality intoa structured set of brand personality dimensions. Until 1997 a variety ofmethods were used to explore and measure brand personality, but none of themTheoryAssumptionsMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 7.9 Theory of the personality approachThe personality approach 133

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had been validated by research extensive enough to deliver reliable, valid andgeneralizable results.In the 1997 study conducted by Jennifer Aaker, an extensive primarily quanti-tative study of the dimensions of brand personality, the aim was to develop aframework that would be generalizable across brands and industries. The quanti-tative method used by Aaker for measuring brand personality has subsequentlybeen validated by several studies and is widely used today. The aim was to identifya limited (manageable) number of dimensions that can be used to categorize allbrands. For this purpose Aaker developed a method based on a structured quanti-tative measurement technique (scaling) combined with factor analysis of the largequantity of data generated in the study. To get a grip on what scaling techniques areall about, the most common scaling techniques used in marketing will beexplained in the next section.Questionnaires and scaling techniquesQuestionnaires and scaling techniques are at the heart of methods for measuringbrand personality. This short introduction will enable the reader to know the basicsabout scaling.When using questionnaires and scaling techniques in practice, it is important toconsider and develop customized research designs that fit the measurement objec-tives of the study. For this process knowledge of the mechanisms of statistics isessential. Scaling refers to the process of measuring or ordering entities accordingto the attributes or traits that characterize them. An example could be a scalingtechnique that could involve estimating individuals’levels of extroversion, or howconsumers perceive the personality of a certain brand. There are different scalingmethods that can provide different results suited for different objectives. Certainmethods of scaling estimate magnitudes on a continuum, while other methodsprovide only the relative ordering of the entities. In brand management, andspecifically in the personality approach, scaling techniques are used to determinethe nature and strength of consumers’ attitudes or opinions towards a specificbrand personality. There are four types of scales: nominal, ordinal, interval andratio. They have different properties suitable in different situations depending onthe type of information needed.• Nominal scales are the weakest form of scale. The numbers assigned toentities serves only to identify the subjects under consideration. Nominalscales are used only to categorize or label – the number has no mathematicalproperties. Examples are inventory codes or ISBN book codes.• Ordinal scales seek to impose more structure on objects by rank-ordering themin terms of the subject’s characteristics, such as weight or colour. As withnominal scales, identical objects are given the same number, but the ordinalscale has the added property that it can tell us something about the direction orrelative standing of one object to another. An example is a preference ranking:to what extent does a consumer prefer one brand to another brand? In order to134 Seven brand approaches

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be able to draw conclusions about differences between the numbers (reflectinghow much a consumer prefers one brand over another), we must know some-thing about the interval between the numbers. Since ordinal scales do notprovide that, interval scales can be used.• Interval scales are grounded on the assumption of equal intervals between thenumbers, i.e. the space between 5 and 10 is the same as the space between 45and 50 and in both cases this distance is five times as great as that between 1and 2 or 11 and 12, etc. Numbers indicate the magnitude of differencebetween items, but there is no absolute zero point. Examples are attitudescales and opinion scales – this scale would be able to measure how much aconsumer prefers one brand to another.• Ratio scales are the most powerful and possess all the properties of nominal,ordinal and interval scales. In addition they permit absolute comparisons ofthe objects, e.g. 6 m is twice as high as 3 m and six times as high as 1 m.Numbers indicate magnitude of difference and there is a fixed zero point.The personality approach 135Box 7.3 Ordinal scales appliedOrdinal scales express consumers’ satisfaction or evaluation of one productor one brand, e.g. ‘How satisfied are you with your current newspaper?’Question Score 1–51 Not satisfied2 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied3 Satisfied4 Very satisfied5 Extemely satisfiedBox 7.4 Interval scales appliedInterval scales express the standing of several brands in relation to eachother, e.g. ‘Assign the different beer brands according to the brand youprefer the most:’(assign the number 1 to the brand you prefer and assign thenumber 5 to the brand you least prefer)Brand Score 1–5Miller’sCoor’s lightCarlsbergBudweiserHeineken

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Ratios can be calculated. Examples include: age, income, price, costs, salesrevenue, sales volume and market share.The brand personality scale and the self conceptThe Likert scale was adapted by Aaker to measure brand personality. This type ofpsychometric response scale is often used in questionnaires and in surveyresearch. When responding to a Likert questionnaire item, respondents specifytheir level of agreement with a statement. In Aaker’s brand personality study, ameasurement scale for measuring brand personality was developed consisting of afive-point Likert scale measuring to what extent consumers agree that a person-ality dimension describes brand personality: from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (stronglydisagree). This scale was used to measure forty-two dimensions of brand person-ality based on more than 1,000 respondents. After generating data, analysis isneeded to sort out the results of the study. Factor analysis is often used to analysedata in the personality approach, because it is particularly suitable when dealingwith a large quantity of data, as is often the case in brand personality studies.Factor analysis is a statistical data reduction technique used to explain variabilityamong observed random variables (also called factors).Other methodsThe methods used for studying self consist of either descriptive methodology,where consumers are asked to determine to what extent a word or a symbol is self-descriptive. After that, the congruence between self and brand personality can bemeasured. It consists of a two-step procedure, where the initial step uncovers thepersonality traits consumers attribute to a certain brand and the second step deter-mines to what extent these personality traits are congruent with the personalitytraits identified in the descriptive exploration of self. Most studies of brandpersonality and self mix descriptive methods and the brand personality scalingmethod (as developed by Aaker 1997).Apart from these rather quantitative methods, it can also be useful to include morequalitative methodologies like free association methodology, photo sorting or auto-biographical methods, where consumers describe their autobiographical memoryrelated to certain stimuli that have a relation to the brand in question. These methodscan uncover self and the brand personality. After that the congruence between selfand brand personality can be explored. This is often done by using a scale whereconsumers rate their perceptions of own self according to the personality character-istics of the brand. Quantitative regression analysis can then be used to measure thecongruity between brand personality and the consumer’s self-concept.Critique of quantitative methods and scaling techniquesQuantitative scales tend to be developed under a laboratory setting and may notbe the best survey tool for capturing the more unconscious aspects of people’s136 Seven brand approaches

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consumption of brands for their symbolic benefits – often qualitative researchis perceived to better capture the nature of consumption behaviour. This is whyquantitative research methods are often used in combination with qualitativemethods. Often qualitative methods are used to ensure a deep understanding ofthe phenomena before a quantitative research method with aim of generatinggeneralizable results is developed. Aaker solved this problem by combining thequantitative study with qualitative methods in the exploratory phase – freeassociation method was used to ensure that the personality trait list generatedfrom the theoretical reviews of human personality theory was complete andaccurate to explain brand personality. Free association methods, photo-sortingtechniques or in-depth interviews are often combined with quantitativeapproaches in the personality approach to respond to the dilemma ofcommercial research into consumer behaviour and perceptions and the need togenerate generalizable results.SummaryQuantitative studies and questionnaires are at the heart of the data and methodsused in the personality approach. The methods used to uncover brand personalityare derived from psychology and involve measuring what personality consumersThe personality approach 137Box 7.5 ‘Six steps’method of exploring and measuring brand personality• Set up a qualitative study of the personality traits that people ascribe tothe brand. Gather a complete list of all personality traits mentionedfrom all relevant shareholders.• Reduce the number of relevant traits by narrowing down the field. Thiscan be done by using a scaling technique where respondents are askedto judge how well a trait describes a brand on a seven-point scaleranging from 1 (not at all descriptive) to 7 (extremely descriptive).Select the traits with an average score of 6 or more.• Further reduction of the trait number by using factor analysis for theaggregate database – to identify the final number of traits (in Aaker’scase five brand personality dimensions).• For every factor (personality dimension) a new factor analysis is doneto identify traits that accurately describe each dimension in greaterdetail (to ensure rich description of each dimension and a more fulldescription of personality).• Confirm the test results with a new sample of respondents to ensurevalidity of both brand personality dimensions and the accuracy of howwell the traits describe each dimension.• If necessary test the results across national cultures to ensure that thestrategies developed based on the results are applicable internationally,or define possible adjustments due the differences in national culture.

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attribute to brands, by applying different scaling techniques. To gain insights intothe self concept and its relation to brand personality, quantitative methods are,however, not suitable. This is why the quantitative methods that have dominatedthe personality approach in the recent years have been accompanied by more qual-itative and loosely structured research methods to uncover the unconsciousaspects of consumer self.Managerial implicationsWe have learned how the personality approach assumes that consumers consumebrands because they contribute to their construction and expression of identity.The managerial focus of the personality approach can be derived from thatassumption. The primary and most important task for the brand manager in thepersonality approach is namely, to understand the mechanisms of identityconstruction that consumers use the brand for and be able to translate them into abrand personality that delivers value and relevance for the consumer. This is whytheory in the personality approach focuses on how imbuing a personality into abrand can enhance consumer bonding and the interaction between consumers’selfand brand personality. The effectiveness and success of a brand personality hencedepends on the extent to which management is able to imbue the brands with apersonality that is attractive, relevant and enhances consumers’ creation and/orexpression of self. To master this process is not easy because it requires deepinsight into consumers’ identity construction and how this process lays thegrounds for consumers’motivation for the consumption of brand personalities thatwill assist them in their construction and expression of self. This insight must beTheoryMethods and dataAssumptionsManagerial implicationsFigure 7.10 Methods and data of the personality approach138 Seven brand approaches

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used to create a coherent personality through the wide array of brand activities,ensuring that the brand personality statement is expressed in all the behaviour andcommunication of the brand. It also requires that close attention is paid to pioneerbrand users and target consumers, because, as pointed out in the sections onassumptions and theoretical building blocks, a brand personality is createdthrough a cyclical interaction between the brand and the consumer. But the effortsto create a strong personality are worth while. Several comparisons and studiespoint to the fact that brands with strong personalities outperform brands without.Furthermore, once created, a brand personality usually has a long ‘life’and servesas an effective tool to build consumer loyalty.Self and brand personality managementThe basis of a strong brand personality is insight into how the symbolic benefits ofthe brand personality contribute to consumers’construction and expression of self.The focus is hence on individual consumers and the psychological processes thatlay the grounds for consumers’ inward individual and outward social use ofbrands. The human self is a complex concept and must be researched properly,using the right methods, as described in the methods and data section, to uncoverhow consumers use the symbolic benefits of the brand before the brand person-ality can be constructed to match these symbolic consumption demands. Effectiveuse of brand personality depends on the brand’s ability to enhance consumer self-expression. Before that can be achieved research must uncover what parts of theself construct are in play in the specific brand. Does the bonding between theconsumer and the brand personality happen because the brand appeals to the indi-vidual self and is used mainly for the inward construction of identity or is theprimary task for the brand to contribute the expression of the consumer’s socialself, where it is the outward signal of the values of the brand that are in play? Theseare important steps in understanding how the brand relates to the consumer selfthat the brand managers must uncover. The steps relate to the consumer selfconstruct (table 7.1).Exact knowledge about the mechanisms and focus of self for the particularbrand in question is a prerequisite for the ability to develop a brand personalitythat is relevant and attractive to consumers. After having uncovered at what levelthe brand personality relates to the consumer by contributing to consumers’ selfconstruct, the brand personality can be developed.Sources of brand personalityOnce the consumer self has been uncovered steps must be undertaken toconstruct or maintain the brand personality. As explained in the theoreticalbuilding blocks of the personality approach, consumers automatically attributehuman personality traits to brands.According to the brand personality frameworkdeveloped by Aaker (1997), the personalities that consumers attribute to brandscan be divided along five main personality dimensions. These five dimensionsThe personality approach 139

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can serve as the basic template for creating a suitable brand personality. Thepersonality traits are a more nuanced description of the behavioural charactertraits that must be built into the brand personality and expressed through all thedifferent sources and modes of communication that the brand uses to expresspersonality. The brand personality dimensions are long-term and a strategic tool.The brand personality statement is more short-term and contains the morenuanced personality traits that can be altered over time and can serve as a guidefor how the brand should appear and behave more specifically. An example ofhow a brand personality can be constructed using the brand personalityframework (figure 7.11).Consumer perceptions of a brand personality are formed and influenced by allthe direct and indirect contacts the consumer has with the brand or other users ofthe brand, also named the sources of brand personality. The direct sources ofbrand personality are: the set of human characteristics associated with thetypical user of the brand, the employees of the company producing the brand;the CEO, or endorsers of the brand also affect how the consumers ultimately willperceive the brand personality. In that way, personality traits of the people asso-ciated with that brand are transferred directly and unfiltered to the brand person-ality itself. Personality can also be transferred indirectly to the brand through theproduct-related attributes and product category associations, but also brandcommunication like the brand name, logo, style, price and distribution channelaffect how the brand personality will be perceived by consumers.Table 7.1 Creating brand personality in accordance with the consumer self constructStep 1 – Uncover internal potential Uncover internally what brand personality isviable for the company to create. The brandpersonality must be authentic, meaning that thepersonality must be in line with what the companyis able to deliver and live up toStep 2 – Uncover the social and Uncover if the brand personality primarily helpsindividual level of consumer self consumers express the individual or social selfStep 3 – Elaborate the Uncover if the brand is used to express theunderstanding of how the brand individual self, explore if it is the actual, ideal orpersonality interacts with desired self the brand appeals toconsumer selfStep 4 – Create and alter the brand Once the right brand personality appealing to thepersonality wanted group and type of consumer self has beencreated the brand must be continuouslymonitored. Brand personalities evolve and can bealtered or diminished with the personality profilesof stereotypical consumers. This cyclical processof how the brand evolves in interaction with thepersonality of different consumer target groupsmust be closely monitored and adjusted to makethe best of the brand140 Seven brand approaches

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When developing a brand personality, brand managers have direct and indirectsources of brand personality at their disposal to create and shape the desired brandpersonality. The direct and indirect sources of brand personality shape in interplaythe full picture of the brand personality and it is important that the behaviour,signal value and symbolic clues expressed through both the direct and indirectsources of brand personality are coherent to ensure that the consumers experience,perceive and evaluate the brand personality as authentic and true to its own nature.• Direct sources of brand personality. The set of human characteristics asso-ciated with the stereotypical brand user, company employees, the CEO, brandendorsers. These human characteristics can be of both a symbolic nature, likesophistication, or they can have a demographic nature, like age, social class,etc. The direct sources of brand personality are always ‘person-based’. Thefounder of Virgin, Richard Branson, advocates new thinking and doing thingsdifferently through all the products inherent in the Virgin brand. His person-ality traits are transferred directly to the Virgin brand. Richard Branson is veryvisible as a CEO and his personality helps promote a certain Virgin brandpersonality to consumers.• Indirect sources of brand personality. All the decisions made about thephysical, functional and tangible aspects that can be experienced by theBox 7.6 Brand personalities in practiceSincereFord, Hallmark, Coca-cola are all examples of sincere personalities thatattempt to establish a warm and caring character. Sincere personalities aregood at establishing long-term relationships with consumers built on trust.Sincere personalities inherently consist of traits such as warmth, family-oriented and traditional. With these traits the brand is expected by theconsumer to display trustworthy and dependable behaviour, which is goodfor building strong and long-lasting relationships.ExcitingThe exciting brand personality type is associated with traits like youth-fulness and energy. Examples of exciting brand personalities are Virgin,MTV and Pepsi. They usually target younger consumer demographics andseek differentiation against an established market leader. The excitingpersonality is good at generating attention and appears attractive and cool.But the exciting personalities are seldom perceived as viable candidates forlong-term relationships.The goals and vision of the brand should hence be reflected in the brandpersonality. And the organization must make sure that they have the rightcapabilities to deliver the traits and behaviour that consumers expect fromthe brand personality chosen.The personality approach 141

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consumer, like the price, shape, distribution and promotion, are the indirectsources of brand personality. They contribute to the brand personality indi-rectly by giving the consumer clues about the brand personality. A companywith a strong brand personality does not need to have a very visible CEOadvocating a certain brand personality, as is the case with the direct sources ofbrand personality. Brand personality can also be transferred indirectly frommanagement to the brand, by choosing different vehicles of communication.For example, MTV is expressing an exciting brand personality through itsevents, sponsorships, website and advertising; the sources of brand person-ality are indirect, since a vehicle of communication is used.Having uncovered the sources of brand personality and how these sources can beused actively to shape the personality of the brand, it is important to establish anefficient communication platform that can launch the brand personality asdistinctive and attractive, but also underpin the personality traits of the brand. Thecommunication platform should not consist only of traditional marketing toolslike ads, website, etc. A distinctive brand personality cannot be built throughcommunication only. The behaviour of the brand is also a necessary and importantpart of a brand personality. To create an authentic and believable brand person-ality, the brand manager must engage in a wide range of branding activities thatexpress personality and create an emotional bond with the consumer. ActivitiesSincere brandpersonalitydimensionsDown-to-earth, honest,wholesome, cheerfulpersonality traitsThe brand must behavioraly and visually reflect athe sincere personality by displaying down-to-earth,honest, wholesome and cheerful personality traits.Figure 7.11 Brand personality dimensions, traits and brand behaviour142 Seven brand approaches

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like sponsorships, events or add-on consumer services matching the personality ofthe brand are essential to complete the picture. Too often companies fail on thisbecause they emphasize short-term goals focused on reaching sales targets or theyend up responding ad hoc or emulating competitors’ strategies.The creation of brand personalityThe goal of brand personality is to describe a mix of perceptual reality from theconsumer perception – they should reflect the way consumers feel about the brandrather than just expressing how the company would like the consumer to feel. Thecreation of brand personality consists of the following steps:• Identification of personality. Identify personality dimensions and personalitytraits to be communicated and built into the ‘behaviour’ of the brand. Bynarrowing down the relevant traits as described in the methods and data of thepersonality approach, it is possible to finally to end up with the brand person-ality profile describing the traits and facets characterizing the brand personality.• Make sure it is appealing. Make sure that the personality appeals to theconsumer, by analysing the consumer self–brand exchange. Should adjust-ments be made to the brand personality based on an analysis of howconsumers are to use the symbolic attributes of the brand?• Understand target groups. Make sure that the right consumer groups aretargeted and the right brand endorsers are chosen. The typical consumer of abrand can have an enormous impact on how the brand personality is perceivedby the other future consumers. This is why getting the target group right (earlyadopters) from the beginning can be crucial for the success of the brand person-ality. See more in the section about early adopters and brand–self congruence.• Align the personality of the brand and the consumer. Analyse the extent towhich the brand is congruent with consumers’ self and align the personalityaccordingly.• Develop the communication platform. Having identified the personalitydimensions that should characterize the brand, it is important to develop anefficient communication platform that underpins that personality.Early adopters and brand–self congruenceEarly adopters of a brand are critical for the alignment of brand personality, becausethey are the group of consumers that other consumers will identify with and use as ameasure for the authenticity of the brand personality. This process takes placebecause, as explained in the sections on theoretical building blocks, consumers’ selfexpression has not only an individual but also a social dimension, where consumersseek inspiration from reference groups for brand consumption and use brands todemonstrate belonging to certain reference groups. The brand can hence be rein-forced in a cyclical process if the right target group picks it up because it will serve asinspiration for other consumers who identify with or aspire to identify with theThe personality approach 143

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reference group that this target group represents. Early adopters can be used, as acontrol group, to make sure that the brand actually expresses desired personally traits.If early adopters display personality traits that are similar to or in line with the person-ality of the brand the brand personality will be reinforced and strengthened. If thegroup of early adopters on the other hand do not share personality characteristics withthe brand personality communicated – then the brand personality will be weakened.The greater the brand congruity between the personality of the ideal targetconsumer and the personality of the brand the stronger will the brand personalitygrow. Early adopters are hence critical for aligning the brand personality and canbe a useful tool when measuring and aligning brand–self congruence and they canpotentially reinforce the personality of the brand and can be used actively in theadvertising campaigns and management of the brand. The brand–self congruencecan be used as a measure for evaluation of how the brand personality interacts withthe self of consumers. To what extent is there brand–self congruence? And howdoes this fit or lack of fit affect the brand personality? The results can lay the basisfor continuous alignment of the brand personality and its appeal to the targetconsumer and use of personality endorsement.Brand personality and consumer–brand relationshipsThe two constructs of brand personality and brand–consumer relationships are closelyrelated. Generally, how a relationship evolves and the level of intimacy that can beachieved depend on the personalities of the partners involved in that relationship. Inbrand management the brand personality influences the behaviour and how the brandinteracts with the consumer – the brand relationship. Different brand personality typeshave different effects on the strength of the brand–consumer relationship. Brands with144 Seven brand approachesChanel No 5Symbolic benefits: Upperclass, charming,and sophisticated signal valueThe sophisticated brandpersonality is strengthenedThe brand isconsumed by an elegantHollywood actressFigure 7.12 Brand–self congruence of Chanel No. 5

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sincere personality traits encourage progressively stronger relationships comparedwith exciting brands. This is why sincere personalities are often valued as a morestable and better choice for a long-term relationship as opposed to exciting brandpersonalities. In practice, considering and managing a brand personality is closelyrelated to the management of the relationship that brands have with consumers. But itis not only in practice that these two concepts are becoming more and more inter-twined. Some of the more prominent researchers of respectively the personalityapproach (Jennifer Aaker) and the relational approach (Susan Fournier) along withAdam Brasel have joined forces and conducted an interesting study exploring howdifferent personalities affect the interaction between the brand and the consumer asthe relationship evolves. The study also indicates the boundaries of and can provideguidelines for appropriate behaviour of different personality types. A conclusion ofthe study is hence that a sincere brand personality poses much higher demands foraccuracy and infallibility. Consumers are much less forgiving if a sincere brandpersonality makes a mistake than if an exciting brand personality commits that samemistake. This can have serious consequences on how the relation between the brandand the consumer can evolve.The personality approach 145Box 7.7 When good brands do badThe article ‘When good brands do bad’ explores the correlation betweenbrand personality and consumer–brand relationships. For this purposeAaker et al. (2004) set up a field study: two online film processingcompanies, one with a sincere brand personality (expressed through pre-tested graphic element, tonality, font, content, and links to other sites), theother more exciting. The idea was to expose the customers of the twodifferent brand personalities to the same transgression, followed byattempts to recover and excuse the transgression. Since transgressionsaccording to theory are almost inevitable in long relationships, it is of majorimportance how consumers respond to them and the damage can be limited.The evolution of the relationship would hence consist of comparable trans-gressions and attempts to resolve the situation. It turned out that theconsumers were much more reluctant to forgive the online film processingcompany with the sincere brand personality than the exciting brand person-ality. The sincere brand showed no sign of recovery after reparationattempts, whereas the exciting brand character shows signs of astrengthened relationship after a transgression if recovery activities wereattempted immediately after the transgression had occurred.Aaker et al. (2004) concludes that the evolution and boundaries ofconsumer-brand relationships are to a great extent affected by what person-ality type the brand possesses. The study illustrates how transgressionsbrands commit are perceived differently depending on what personalitytypes that brand has. The study hence demonstrates the interrelation

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Box 7. 8 Do’s and don’ts of the personality approachDo Don’tRemember to uncover the complex Develop a brand personalityways the brand contributes to without knowing exactly what kindconsumers self construction and of self the brand addressesexpressionMake a thorough personality Limit the brand personality to beingstatement that can guide described by one personalitybrand-building activities dimensionConsider how the brand personality Make sure to have the right plan forsets the standard and boundaries how to cope with transgressionsfor how the brand can behave that matches the brand personalitytypeMake sure that the organization is Limit the question of brandable to deliver on the promise and personality solely to marketingexpectations linked to the chosenbrand personality.Choose and focus on the right Forget that the stereotypical user oftarget group the brand affects the brandpersonality.Take a dynamic approach to brand Ignore consumers’ relations withpersonality, analyse how the brand the brand and the effect thesepersonality affects the relationship relations have on the brandwith your consumer personality.between brand personality and consumer–brand relationship. The studysuggest that instead of interpreting and managing brand personality as astatic construct, it could be valuable to have a more dynamic approach tobrand personality that also includes the roles that different personalities areable to play in consumer–brand relationships. Brands with sincere person-ality traits encourage progressively stronger relationships than excitingbrands. But sincere brand personalities are much more vulnerable to trans-gressions than exciting brands. Hence, depending on the personality of thebrand, research indicates that if recovery attempts are initiated by themarketer after a transgression, then these can dilute the negative effects offailures (transgressions) and sometimes even drive the relationship to asatisfaction level beyond the level prior to the transgression incident.146 Seven brand approaches

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The dynamic of how a brand personality and the actions of a brand affect theconsumer–brand relationship is essential to include in any brand managementconsideration. What personality is suitable for the brand in question and is theorganization as such able to deliver on the promise/expectations that, for example,a sincere brand personality sets out? Hence the personality traits and the rela-tionship roles that different personalities can play in a consumer–brand rela-tionship ought to be a pivotal in the management of brand personalities.Relationships with sincere brands deepen over time, and relationships withexciting brands have the evolutionary character of a short-lived fling. Researchfindings suggest that dynamic construal of brand personality is more accurate anduseful for management in describing the potential of a brand personality. Theinterrupt events and relationship contracts between brand and consumer formedon the basis of the consumer–brand interaction can reveal much more about thestrength of a brand personality than a more static perception of brand personality.In practice this is also why recently much research into brand personality overlapsresearch into the consumer–brand relationship.SummaryThe primary focus for the brand manager in the personality approach is to build anattractive and relevant brand personality that can serve as a strategic tool to ensurea deep and long-lasting connection with consumers. The prerequisites for creatingthe right brand personality are insights into how consumers use the specific brandin their construction and expression of self. Understanding these mechanisms canensure that right perpetual personality mix is created for the brand personality andThe personality approach 147TheoryManagerialimplicationsAssumptionsMethods and dataFigure 7.13 Managerial implications of the personality approach

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that the right means of communication for that personality is used. The rightplatform for the brand personality requires that both the direct and indirect sourcesof brand personality are considered. Target group users and early adopters can beused as control groups and a measure for the evaluation of whether the brand is onthe right track and ensure a continuous alignment of the brand–self congruence.Adopting a dynamic approach to brand personality including analysis of the rela-tionship role different personalities are able to act out in the brand–consumer rela-tionship is essential to gain the complete and full picture of how the brandpersonality and the consumers interact.148 Seven brand approachesComments from the ‘founding fathers’(3)Brands and personality: the originJoseph Plummer, Columbia Business SchoolAs mass media evolved from print to electronic media in the 1940s, 1950sand 1960s, the battle for brand name recall and recognition became intense.Some agencies and advertisers created special ways to generate brand recallbeyond simply spending more money – Leo Burnett in particular, with theirability to bring a brand name to life through memorable characters like Tonythe Tiger, the Marlboro cowboy and the Jolly Green Giant. I was lucky to bea part of that period at Leo Burnett in the late 1960s and 1970s when theseand other advertising icons were born.One of my favourites that I worked on was Morris the Cat for Nine Livescat food. Morris had an attitude, like most cats, and wouldn’t accept any oldbrand – he liked Nine Lives and could ‘persuade’his owners to serve it. Themagic of this idea was that cat owners tend to ‘humanize’ their cats. Theygive them personalities, human feelings and ascribe a great sense of inde-pendence to them.In 1979 I joined Young & Rubicam, where I was blessed to work withFrazier Purdy. In 1980 he and I were reviewing new campaigns for DrPepper, a challenger brand in the United States to Coca-cola and Pepsi.Frazier rejected the three campaigns because he said they didn’t ‘capture theattitude of the brand’. That brilliant observation triggered my past expe-rience with Morris and Nine Lives. If they could ‘humanize’ a cat, was itpossible that consumers could ‘humanize’a brand? Could a brand have atti-tudes – maybe even a personality? We undertook some very innovativeresearch with the help of Howard Leonard of the Y&R research departmentto see if Dr Pepper had a personality, one that was perceptually differentfrom Coca-cola and Pepsi. The results were astonishing! Consumers couldimagine and express different personalities of the three brands throughchoices of personality characteristics like fun-loving, masculine and ener-getic, and a selection of symbols like certain animals.

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Student questions1 What scientific field does the personality approach draw inspiration from?2 How does the personality approach perceive the exchange between brand andconsumer?3 Why is self important in the personality approach?4 What is the difference between personality dimensions and personality traits?5 What would you use if conducting a study of brand personality, and why?6 What are the indirect and the direct sources of brand personality?7 How can early adopters affect the brand personality?8 What is the relation between brand personality and brand relationship?9 What kind of relationship should a company aiming at creating a sincerebrand personality expect to be able to achieve with its consumers, and why?References and further readingKey readings are in bold type.Aaker, J. (1997) ‘Dimensions of brand personality’, Journal of Marketing Research, 34(August): 347–56Aaker, J., Benet-Martinez, V. and Garolera, J. (2001) ‘Consumption symbols as carriers ofculture: a study of Japanese and Spanish brand personality constructs’, Journal ofPersonality and Social Psychology, 8 (3): 492–508Aaker, J., Fournier, S. and Brasel, A. S. (2004) ‘When good brands do bad’, Journal ofConsumer Research, 31 (June): 1–16Ahuvia, A. C. (2005) ‘Beyond the extended self: loved objects and consumers’ identitynarratives’, Journal of Consumer Research, 32 (June): 171–84Azoulay, A. and Kapferer, J-N. (2003) ‘Do brand personality scales really measure brandpersonality?’Brand Management, 11 (2): 143–155Belk, R. W. (1988) ‘Possessions and the extended self’, Journal of Consumer Research,15 (2): 139–68Chaplin, L. N. and John, D. R. (2005) ‘The development of self-brand connections onchildren and adolescent’, Journal of Consumer Research, 32: 119–29We were so encouraged by the initial results that we studied other agencybrands like Oil of Olay, Jell-o, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Merrill Lynch. Allthe brands had clear and measurable personalities. The journey then began toshare this news with clients and integrate brand personality into the Y&Rstrategy process. Twenty-five years have passed since Frazier and I stumbledon to brand personality. It is used throughout the advertising industryworldwide today and the phenomenon has been studied carefully by leadingacademics such as JenniferAaker and Kevin Keller in the United States.Source Edited version of the preface to Marco Lombardi (ed.) La marca,una come noi. La personalità di marca nell’era post spotMilan: Franco Angeli (2007)The personality approach 149

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8 The relational approachwith a commentary by Associate Professor Susan Fournier, Boston UniversitySchool of ManagementRelationships are a fundamental part of the way we live our lives. We use relation-ships for many different things and their importance to us differs significantly. Wehave lifelong relationships to our siblings that might be characterized by a profoundLearning objectivesThe purpose of this chapter is to:Understand the assumptions of the relational approach• The brand is perceived as a viable relationship partner and a ‘dyadic’brand perspective is hence introduced in brand management• a view of the consumer as an existential beingUnderstand the main theoretical building blocks and how they areconnected• Animism• Human relationships• The brand relationship theoryProvide insights into the variety of methods used to research relationships• Depth interviews and life story methodUnderstand the managerial implications• The brand has to act as a true friendUnderstand the academic implications• A paradigm shift• inspiring new ways in brand management

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feeling of sharing the same important values stemming from the same family back-ground.You might have a best friend from your kindergarten days. But you also haverelationships to fellow students and colleagues knowing that you will only uphold themajority of these relationships in the period of time where you share the sameworking or university sphere. Long or short, deep or shallow – relationships areinstrumental parts of everyone’s lives, structuring meaning and adding life content.Research has proved that consumers experience relationships with brands(Fournier 1998), and just like human relationships, consumer–brand relationshipsare of a very diverse nature. Brand relationship theory reached a wide brandmanagement audience when ‘Consumers and their brands: developing rela-tionship theory in consumer research’by Susan Fournier was published in Journalof Consumer Research (March of 1998).4Drawing on theories about human rela-tionships and the idea of brand personality, the study went on to investigate themarketing ‘buzz word’ at the time; relationships.Brand relationship theory is also a continuation of theory about brand loyalty.Loyalty is often closely linked with the sensation of a relationship. Loyal consumersare valuable consumers. Creating brand loyalty is all about managing thebrand–consumer exchange long-term instead of a short-term exchange focusing onthe transaction. But while brand loyalty is an expression of if a consumer chooses thebrand on a continuous basis, applying the brand relationship theory offers explana-tions of how and why brands are consumed by loyal consumers.152 Seven brand approachesBox 8.1 Customer relationship management and brand relationshiptheoryThe term ‘relationship marketing’ was first introduced in the literature onservices and then became an important notion in business-to-businessmarkets, where the business relationships often are longer than in business-to-consumer markets. In the literature on services and relationships aservice encounter is defined as; ‘the dyadic interaction between a customerand service provider’ (Bitner et al. 1990, p. 72).Fournier’s aim was to establish a thorough framework for the use of thismetaphor and apply it to consumers’ brand relations; ‘In a sense, the fieldhas leapt ahead to application of relationship ideas and the assumption ofrelationship benefits without proper development of the core constructinvolved’ (Fournier 1998, p. 343).Customer relationship management and brand relationship theory arehence not necessarily the same. Customer relationship management offersdifferent tools to manage a customer relationship on a long-term basisinstead of focusing on the singular transaction while brand relationshiptheory goes to the root of the relationship metaphor.Sources Bitner et al. (1990) and Fournier (1998)

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In real life people relate to one another in many different ways. The same istrue as to how they relate to the brands they buy. To reduce it simply to amatter of loyalty or lack of loyalty is like saying that you either marryeverybody you meet or they will never be a meaningful part of your life.(Fournier 1998b)Brand relationship theory builds on a comprehensive phenomenological study.Thereby, the scientific and philosophical tradition of phenomenology is added tothe context of brand management. This addition implies a significant shift in theway brands and consumers are perceived and investigated.The other six approach chapters of this book feature the same structure, endingwith the managerial implications of the approach. This chapter deviates from thatstructure.Brand relationship theory has become very influential and the brand rela-tionship metaphor has in many ways become the equivalent of the interpretivebranding paradigm that has been dominant since the mid-1990s. The idea of thebrand relationship provides great insights and is yet very elusive and difficult totranslate into concrete managerial implications. Therefore, the concludingsection of this chapter is renamed ‘Implications of the relational approach’. Inthis section we will only touch briefly upon the managerial implications and alsoallow space for explaining the tremendous academic impact of this approach.This concluding section will describe how and why it can be identified as aparadigm shift fuelling the forthcoming approaches by entering the life-worlds ofconsumers, applying an entirely qualitative research design, and focusing onmeaning instead of information.Assumptions of the relational approachIn the previous approaches, we have seen quite a development in the assumedbrand and consumer perspectives. In the economic approach (chapter 4) and theidentity approach (chapter 5), the point of departure for understanding brandvalue creation is the organization from which the brand stems. In the consumer-based approach of chapter 6 the brand was presumed to be a cognitive construalin the mind of the (cognitive man) consumer. In the personality approach (chapter7), a dialogue-based brand–consumer exchange was introduced to the field ofbrand management. The relational approach of this chapter also implies adialogue-based take on brand management and does, in several ways, resemblethe personality approach.However, we have chosen to present the personality and the relational approachas two different approaches because they stem from very different scientific andphilosophical traditions and thereby imply very different consumer perspectivesand the use of very different methodologies.The relational approach is grounded in phenomenology. Phenomenology is aqualitative, constructionist research tradition emphasizing the accessing of an ‘innerreality’ and, as a consequence, the validity of ‘lived experience’. The relationalThe relational approach 153

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approach is the first approach relying on purely qualitative research. Brandconsumption is understood only through a deep and holistic understanding of thepersonal context in which the brand is consumed.The ‘brand–consumer exchange’The brand relationship theory is based on a ‘dyadic’brand–consumer relationship,implying an equal exchange between brand and consumer. Both parties contributeto brand value creation, which takes place in an ongoing meaning-basedexchange. The fact that the arrows in Figure 8.1 form a circular motion reflectsthat the development of the brand–consumer relationship is a never-endingprocess, influenced by the same parameter changes as human relationships.Even though the focus of the relational approach is the ongoing exchange (or rela-tionship) between brand and consumer, it is important to stress that relationships arephenomena influenced by contextual changes. The brand relationship theory alsoaims at understanding the lives of consumers in a holistic manner; implying that theenvironment of the consumer is not delimited from analysis. But it is important tounderstand that the approach focuses on the exchange between brand and consumer,while the understanding of the consumer’s social context is the pivotal point of thecommunity approach (chapter 9) and the impact of the consumer’s cultural envi-ronment is conceptualized in the cultural approach (chapter 10).In the broader context of brand management, the relational approach implies amajor shift in assumptions. Considering the methodologies and scientific and philo-sophical traditions of the previous approaches, this shift is a significant step towardsa new conceptualization of the brand as something ‘owned’by the consumer.The ‘ownership’ by the consumer is at the heart of the consumer-basedapproach (chapter 6), but the consumer perspective of this approach rests upon anif–then logic (if you are faced with stimulus X, your reaction will be Y) high-lighting the similarities among consumers and the consumer as an information-processing ‘computer’. Thereby, the view of man behind the consumer-basedapproach is more related to a machine metaphor and consumers are more seen asmanipulable objects. Therefore, the ‘ownership’by the consumer in the consumer-based approach can be questioned. Sure, the brand is perceived as linked with theassociations in the mind of the consumer, but the brand manager can also be seenas a ‘computer programmer’ programming consumers by applying the exact rightcues and triggers to marketing communications. Even though the relational154 Seven brand approachesBrand ConsumerFigure 8.1 ‘Dyadic’ brand–consumer relationship

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approach features the dyadic brand–consumer relationship, the consumer seems tobe more the ‘owner’ of the brand than in the previous approaches.The phenomenological perspectivePhenomenology is a penetrating research style that accesses an ‘inner reality’through researching what is felt, perceived and thought. Phenomenology isclosely linked with the existentialism branch of philosophy. Here, the humanexperience of key existential topics such as life, death and time is the basis forunderstanding man.Phenomenological research assumes a socially constructed reality as opposedto the assumed external and objective reality of the positivist tradition. This is whyphenomenological research emphasizes ‘lived’or ‘felt’experience, which is also arecurrent notion of the brand relationship theory.In the relational approach, consumers are investigated as individuals and theirinner and idiosyncratic realities are considered valid. The relational approach ismeaning-based. Meaning is created in the interaction between sender and receiverand is opposed to the concept of information which implies a notion of linearcommunication from sender to receiver:What matters in the construction of brand relationships is not simply whatmanagers intend for them, or what brand images ‘contain’ in the culture, butwhat consumers do with brands to add meaning in their lives. The abstracted,goal-derived, and experiential categories that consumers create for brands arenot necessarily the same as the categories imposed by the marketers in chargeof brand management…. This reality – that consumers’ experiences withbrands are often phenomenologically distinct from those assumed by themanagers who tend them – commands a different conception of brand at thelevel of lived experience, and new, more complex approaches to the socialclassification of branded goods.(Fournier 1998, p. 367)The relational approach is concerned with understanding the identity projects ofconsumers. It is important to notice that it is the individual identity projects that areinvestigated in this approach. The cultural approach (chapter 10) is concerned withcollective identity projects. So the relational approach beats the drum for integratingknowledge of individual identity projects in the management of a brand, while thecultural approach does the same in favour of our collective identity projects.SummaryThe relational approach rests upon assumptions regarding the brand–consumerexchange as a ‘dyadic’ and cyclical process resembling a human relationship.Brand meaning is constituted through this process to which both parties contributeequally. The relational approach is linked to the tradition of phenomenologyThe relational approach 155

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implying an existential view of man. ‘The inner reality’ of the consumer becomesboth valid and valuable data material by the application of this perspective. Thephenomenological perspective emphasizes a holistic view of the consumer andthereby takes an interest in many aspects that are not directly related to the actualconsumption choice or behaviour.Theoretical building blocks of the relational approachIt goes without saying that the brand relationship theory is the core theme of the rela-tional approach. Applying the relationship metaphor to a brand–consumer constructrequires an abstraction towards regarding the brand as something human. The humanpropensity to endow inanimate objects or mental constructs with human character-istics is called animism. A prerequisite for the relationship theory is the literaturedealing with brand personality and therefore animism is the first supporting theme.Animism will be reviewed very briefly; the inquiring reader should refer to chapter 7:the personality approach. Human relationship theory serves as the second supportingtheme of the relational approach to brand management.Supporting theme: animismHuman beings have a tendency to endow objects and even abstract ideas withhuman personality characteristics. Brands can be animated, humanized andpersonalized. A prerequisite for applying knowledge from the relational approachto the management of a brand is that that brand is perceived as a personality as thisfurthers the consumer–brand relationship. As illustrated in figure 7.1, humanAssumptionsTheoryMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 8.2 Assumptions of the relational approach156 Seven brand approaches

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personalities are ‘transformed’into brand personalities (the modified Big five) andconsumers interact with brands that suit their self-expressive benefits best.When working with brand personality, archetype theories from psychology arealso very popular. Simplified versions of what Jung called archetypes are widelyused as the basis of brand development and advertising. Empirical studies show aconnection between profits and having a brand more or less consciouslyconnected with a personality or archetype.Supporting theme: relationship theoryAs described in the introduction, relationships are fundamental in the developmentof the human psyche. It is difficult to imagine life without any relations with otherpeople. Relationships are in many ways how we embed ourselves in the world.Relationships are constituted of our continuous reciprocal exchanges betweeninterdependent relationship partners. For a relationship to exist, active inter-changes between relationship partners are required. Relationships can bedescribed as purposive because they add and structure meaning in people’s lives.The meaning added and structured by relationships is of a psychological, a socio-cultural and a relational nature:• Psychological meaning is linked with the identity of the participants in therelationships. In a consumption context, important research has highlightedthe link between consumers and their consumption choices, establishing thecentral concept of possessions as part of the extended self. The way relation-ships correspond to the formation of identity is through the way they help solvelife themes (central to the core identity and the personal history), important lifeprojects (key life roles) and current concerns (related to daily tasks).It is important to understand the way psychological meaning refers to life themes,life projects, and current concerns. These different ‘levels’of psychological meaningwork as pivotal points in several important brand management and consumerresearch studies (e.g. Mick and Buhl 1992; Fournier and Yao 1997; Fournier 1998).Supporting theme:Relationship theorySupporting theme:AnimismCore theme:Brand relationshiptheoryFigure 8.3 Supporting themes and core theme of the relational approachThe relational approach 157

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A few relationships reflect your life theme, which is the core theme (or themes)of your life. A life theme is deeply rooted in personal history and is often difficultto verbalize because it is so fundamental to you that it is often ‘buried’ in thesubconscious (e.g. being free versus not being free).Life projects fluctuate more than life themes in accordance with changes incircumstances, and life cycle and relationships are also influenced by theconstruction, maintenance and dissolution of key roles in life.Alife project relatesto the most significant choices in our lives – what do we choose as our education,profession – and family priorities.The most practical relationships are the ones spurred by current concerns andthey are directed toward completion of tasks in everyday life. An example couldbe your hairdresser, the employees at your child’s daycare facility and so on.5Besides providing psychological meaning, relationships apply socio-cultural aswell as relational meaning to the ones engaged in them.• Socio-cultural meaning is linked with changes in our life conditions. Socio-cultural meaning can be divided into five broad socio-cultural contexts(age/cohort, life cycle, gender, family/social network, and culture) which allinfluence how participants approach relationships. Relationships change aslife does – think about college graduation, becoming a parent, getting readyfor retirement, and so on. Life falls into different eras and so do relationships.• Relational meaning of relationships deals with the fact that all relationships arepart of a network of other relationships. The nature of one individual relationshipis thereby influenced by the fact that it is part of a jigsaw puzzle of other relation-ships fitting the requirements of the person having the relationship.Any relationship is further affected by contextual influences. In that sense, rela-tionships grow with us, adjust to our changing lives and influence the changes inour lives as well. In other words, relationships develop over the course of time andare constituted of a series of repeated exchanges between the relationship partners.In that sense, relationships are process phenomena, constantly changing.In sum, relationships add and structure meaning in our lives. Remember that themeaning is of a psychological, socio-cultural and relational nature. Furthermore,relationships never stand still and are influenced by an infinite number ofcontextual factors.Relationships take place between human beings. But since people tend toendow brands with human-like personalities, the characteristics of a relationshipcan be applied to brands as well. How this complex notion is conceptualized in theworld of brand management will be explained in the next section.Core theme: the brand relationship theoryThrough extensive research into three female informants’lived experiences withbrands Fournier was able to prove that brands can and do serve as viable rela-tionship partners in the sense that they are endowed with human personality158 Seven brand approaches

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characteristics and are used for solving life themes, life projects and currentconcerns (as well as matching the other characteristics of a relationship).The characteristics of the human relationships and the way these are connected withthe identity of the participants’ lives are hence transferred to the consumer–brandBox 8.2 Background of the brand relationship theoryThe study behind the brand relationship theory involves three femaleinformants; Jean, Karen and Vicki.Jean is fifty-nine years old, has been married to Henry for most of her life,and tends a bar in her small blue-collar home town. She is the mother of threegrown-up daughters and of Italian descent. Her Catholic faith and family tradi-tions are important to her. When it comes to life themes, affiliation andstability are important in Jean’s life. Jean displays brand relationship depictingthese life themes as she enjoys using a portfolio of brands for many years.Having been a housekeeper, a mother and a waitress all her adult life, Jean seesherself as a consumer expert, knowing exactly which brands are ‘the best’.Karen’s life situation is very different. She is a recently divorced thirty-nine year-old mother of two girls and works full-time as an office manager.She finds herself in a dilemma, on the one hand wanting to pursue new pathsin her life, and on the other to create a stable home for her two youngchildren. Karen’s life themes are influenced by the transition phase she isexperiencing. Karen does not display emotional attachment to brands to thesame degree as the other two women. Due to the financial reality of being asingle parent she has adopted a very practical approach to brand purchases,going for coupons and other promotions. However, she displays emotionalattachment to a few selected brands that are central for upholding her senseof identity in her transitional phase. Karen also displays an experientialapproach to brand consumption, reflecting her life situation, where she feelsan urge to start over again.Vicki is the youngest of the three respondents. She is twenty-three years oldand in her final year of studying for her master’s degree. Vicki is in a transitionperiod between being a dependent child and an independent adult. She usesbrands as means in a meaning-based communication system, trying out thepotential identities and possible selves typical of the transition phase she is in.The way the different life situations and life themes of the three womeninteract with the way they consume is the background of the brand rela-tionship theory. Despite the different nature of their brand consumption,they all relate to brands in a way that is comparable to the way we relate toeach other in human relationships. Examples of the three women’s brandrelationships can be found in table 8.1.Source Fournier (1998)The relational approach 159

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relationships and the concept of brand relationships between brands and consumersis verified; ‘Whether one adopts a psychological or socio-historical interpretation ofthe data, the conclusion suggested in the analysis is the same: brand relationships arevalid at the level of consumers’lived experiences’(Fournier 1998, p. 360).As explained in the above section, human relationships take on very differentforms and so do brand relationships. In the study behind the brand relationshiptheory fifteen brand relationships are identified.The relationship forms resemble human relationships in the way they help fulfilgoals and desires at the different life ‘levels’ of life themes, life projects andcurrent concerns. Some brand relationships last all life and express some of itsusers’ core values and ideas; others mean a lot (the consumer displays brand loyalbehaviour) but the consumption of them changes as life progresses while othersdeliver on current concerns without being a fundamental part of the consumer’sconsumption pattern. The system of fifteen brand relationships:illustrates how the projects, concerns, and themes that people use to definethemselves can be played out in the cultivation of brand relationships andhow those relationships, in turn, can affect the cultivation of one’s concept ofself. For each woman interviewed, the author was able to identify an intercon-nected web of brands that contributed to the enactment, exploration, or reso-lution of centrally held identity issues.(Fournier 1998, p. 359)The pattern of brand relationships resembles the pattern of human relationshipsin the cases of the three women serving as objects of research. This suggeststhat the role played by brands in the life of the individual consumer is deeplylinked to the overall identity and the way the identity is reflected in their humanrelationships. A person with few but deep and lasting human relationships willalso typically display loyalty to a few preferred brands, while a person whoprefers to experiment more in the people department will also have a tendencyto be rather experiential, when it comes to brand choice. Human relationshipsdeliver on life themes, life projects and current concerns, and so do brand rela-tionships.Relationships are, however, also process phenomena and as such volatile andintangible. The same goes for brand relationships. The goal of a brand managerapplying this theory to his or her work is to make the brand relationship as mean-ingful, stable and lasting as possible. The brand relationship needs to be of a highquality. Fournier advances the brand relationship theory by putting forward theBrand Relation Quality construct. The BRQ construct focuses on the quality,depth and strength of the consumer–brand relationship. Six important relationshipfactors (love/passion, self-connection, interdependence, commitment, intimacyand brand partner quality) are identified as influencing the durability and qualityof the relationship. The relationship is basically meaning-based, reflecting thereciprocal nature of a relationship (read more about the consequences of managingmeaning in the section on managerial implications).160 Seven brand approaches

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Table 8.1 Relationship formsRelationship form Definition ExamplesArranged marriages Non-voluntary union imposed When married, Karen adoptedby preferences of third party. her husband’s favourite brandsIntended for long-term, exclusivecommitment, although at lowlevels of affective attachmentCasual friends/ Friendship low in affect and Karen switches between fivebuddies intimacy, characterized by different detergent brands,infrequent or sporadic buying whatever is on saleengagement, and few exceptionsfor reciprocity or rewardMarriages of Long-term, committed After a move of residence Vickiconvenience relationship precipitated by cannot buy her favourite brandenvironmental influence versus of baked beans, which makesdeliberate choice, and governed her reluctantly switch to aby satisfying rules competing brandCommitted Long-term, voluntarily imposed, This is the relationship formpartnerships socially supported union high in Jean has with the majority oflove, intimacy, trust and brands she uses for cleaningcommitment to stay together and cookingdespite adverse circumstances.Adherence to exclusivity rulesexpectedBest friendships Voluntary union based on a In Karen’s phase of finding herprinciple of reciprocity, the feet after a divorce, runningendurance of which is ensured every morning means a lot tothrough continued provision of her and has become a symbolpositive rewards. Characterized of her new self. In thisby revelation of true self, connection Reebok hashonesty and intimacy. become a brand that is ‘a bestCongruity in partner images friend’ to Karenand personal interests commonCompartmentalized Highly specialized, situationally Vicki uses a variety of differentfriendships confined, enduring friendships perfume brands to displaycharacterized by lower intimacy different sides of herself inthan other friendship forms but different situationshigher socio-emotional rewardsand interdependence. Easy entryand exitKinships Non-voluntary union with Vicki and Karen havelineage ties ‘inherited’ some brandpreferences from their mothersRebounds/ Union precipitated by desire At work Karen could chooseavoidance-driven to move away from prior or between a Gateway and anrelationships available partner, as opposed Apple computer. She chose theto attraction to chosen partner prior because she does notper se define herself as an ApplepersonThe relational approach 161

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The six most important facets, when upholding an important relationship arereflected in the Brand Relationship Quality part of the figure: love/passion, self-connection, commitment, interdependence, intimacy and brand partner quality.These are important factors when one evaluates a brand relationship and the sumof these factors reflects the perceived quality of the relationship.The relationship quality is, however, also subject to an ongoing interplaybetween actions by the brand and the consumer of the relationship. RelationshipsChildhood Infrequently engaged, To Jean the Estée Lauder brandfriendships affectively laden relation evokes strong memories of herreminiscent of earlier times. motherYields comfort and security ofpast selfCourtships Interim relationships on the Wanting to find the ‘right’road to committed partnership scent, Vicki and her mothercontract tried out several muskperfumes before settling for theIntimate Musk brandDependences Obsessive, highly emotional, Appearance is important toselfish attractions cemented by Karen and she thanks Maryfeeling that the other is Kay and her running routine forirreplaceable. Separation from her youthful looks. As thisothers yields anxiety. High aspect of appearance is crucialtolerance of others for Karen’s identity in hertransgressions results transitional phase as recentlydivorced, she is highlyemotional and truly loyal to theMary Kay brandFlings Short-term, time-bounded Vicki tries out several trial-sizeengagements of high emotional shampoos and conditionersreward but devoid ofcommitment and reciprocitydemandsEnmities Intensely involving Karen has negative feelingsrelationships characterized by towards Diet Coke, as she,negative affect and desire to taking great pride in not havingavoid or inflict pain on the other any weight problems, enjoysbeing able to drink ClassicCokeSecret affairs Highly emotive, privately held Karen has Tootsie Pops in herrelationship considered risky if office desk and eats them inexposed to others secretEnslavements Non-voluntary union governed Karen uses Southern Bell andentirely by desires of the Cable Vision, as she has norelationship partner. Involves other choicenegative feelings but persistsbecause of circumstancesSource Fournier (1998).162 Seven brand approaches

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from both participants in the relationship, which affect the stability and durabilityof the relationship. Hence, she not only introduces a whole new way of conceptu-alizing brands, she also introduces the management of the brand as an ongoing,complex and indeed unstable process.Brand relationship theory has subsequently been extended by research into theway respectively brand personality and the expected brand relationship normsinfluence the brand relationship.Box 8.3 The complexity of a relationshipIn ‘When good brands do bad’, (Aaker et al. 2004) research illustrates howbrands are evaluated differently when having different brand personalitiesbut making the same mistake. The consumers were more forgiving towardsthe exciting brand personality than towards the sincere brand. The brandrelationship was thus influenced differently when the brands were different(Read more about this study in chapter 7.)In ‘The effects of brand relationship norms on consumer attitudes andbehavior’ (Aggarwal 2004) it is studied how different fundamental percep-tions of relationship norms influence the evaluations of marketing actions.In social psychology a distinction is made between two different kinds ofrelationships with distinctively different relationship norms:• Exchange relationships are based on economic factors. People in thiskind of relationship expect money in return for a favour or expect acomparable favour promptly.• Communal relationships are based on social factors. Here, money inreturn for a favour is not expected. Benefits are not compared.The line of thinking behind this research is that a brand is evaluated as apotential relationship partner in – more or less – the same manner as ahuman member of society. Certain norms for a relationship are identified ina brand relationship as they would be in a human relationship. After havingtested how these norms work in the exchange between a brand and aconsumer in situations of asking for help, the researcher is able to state thatit is very important not to mix the behaviour of the two types of relation-ships. When a relationship is established, relationship norms (exchange-based and communal) are taken for granted, and violations of these normsare evaluated negatively.This line of research extends on the idea that a relationship is a complexand volatile entity.And in the management of a brand relationship it is bene-ficial to consider both the brand personality and the implied relationshipnorms and make all marketing actions consistent accordingly.Sources Aaker et al. (2004), Aggarwal (2004)164 Seven brand approaches

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SummaryTraditionally, we speak of relationships between people. Expanding the notion tobrands and consumers implies that consumers have the ability to endow brandswith human personality traits. Therefore, animism – or the human propensity toendow dead objects or abstract concepts with human personalities – is the firstsupporting theme in this chapter. Theory on human relationships serves as thesecond supporting theme. Human relationships are important factors in all livesand deliver on life themes, life projects and current concerns. They are alsoprocess phenomena under influence from many different sources.The brand relationship theory originates from a study into how consumersexperience relationships with brands. This study provides us with a frameworkconsisting of fifteen different brand relationship forms, resembling human rela-tionships. But knowing what kind of relationship consumers experience withbrands is not enough. The theory also provides us with the Brand RelationshipQuality construct. It is a model that depicts how relationships are volatile processphenomena constantly under influence of other factors. The brand relationshiptheory is supplemented by research into how brand personality and relationshipnorms influence consumers’ brand evaluations.Methods and data in the relational approachThe most important methodologies of this approach are based on the scientifictradition of phenomenology. The relational approach takes brand managementtheory into the domains of experiential consumption. Here, the inner reality of theconsumer is investigated and a holistic take on the way the life of the consumerThe relational approach 165TheoryAssumptionsMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 8.5 Theoretical building blocks of the relational approach

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influences consumption is a prerequisite. Accessing the inner reality and therebyunderstanding the whole life of the consumer is primarily done by means of depthinterviews and life story methods.Depth interviews and life storiesOne of the most widely used methods of accessing the inner realities of respon-dents is depth interviews. Often, depth interviews are combined with life storymethods, where the respondent’s own statements on life transitions and so on arerecorded and intertwined with other statements in order to deepen the holisticunderstanding of the consumer’s life world.The 1998 publication by Fournier which introduced the phenomenologicaltradition to the discipline of brand management, constituting the relationalapproach, used depth interviews in combination with life story method. Thephenomenological interview allows for ‘the understanding of the subjectivemeanings of consumers’ lived experiences with brands … establishing consumervalidity of the brand proposition as a whole’ (Fournier 1998, p. 347).The life-story case study makes it possible to link the statements put forward inthe depth interviews with the stages and themes of the informant’s life story, hencelinking the consumer experiences with the central themes of consumer identity:Identity is reflected in one’s life narrative, or life story, capturing various rolesincluding past, present, and anticipated future selves. My life narrativedescribes the path of my identity development; it defines who I am, who Ihave been, who I am becoming, and/or who I am no longer.(Kleine et al. 1995, p. 328)The life-story method is not, as such, separable from the depth interview:‘Phenomenological interviewing can be particularly powerful in chroniclingpersonal transformation and change’ (Hackley 2003, p. 122). But being aware ofthe fact that people structure their understanding of themselves in a narrativelinked with the life story enables the researcher to draw more insightful andpowerful conclusions based on the analysis of the interview.The depth interview method involves a turning back to experiencing. Goingback to individual and felt experiences supports a reflexive structured analysis thatportrays the essence of an experience. By interpreting the retrospective andevident explanations of the respondent’s experience with the phenomenon, thisapproach may reveal underlying structures and concepts. Uncovering these under-lying structures opens up a deep understanding of what the experiences really havemeant for the respondent. By understanding the experience at the individual level,it is possible to draw more general conclusions.A depth interview takes several hours and can eventually be conducted insequence meaning that you return to the same respondent several times in order togo still deeper into understanding his or her life world. Depth is definitelypreferred to breadth when collecting data in this tradition.166 Seven brand approaches

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Life stories often reveal themselves as undercurrents in phenomenological depthinterviews. Allowing the respondent to talk for hours will hence often discloseimportant and recurring themes and values linked with their life history (oftenthe life themes, life projects and current concerns of relationship theory arerelevant, when understanding the nature of relationships). Linking these themeswith statements about other subjects can deepen the understanding of the wholelife of the respondent.Box 8.4 Depth is preferred to breadthAs described in box 8.2, only three informants served as basis of the originalbrand relationship research in order to secure depth: ‘Size restrictions on theinformant pool ensured the depth concerning life worlds and brand rela-tionship portfolios necessary for thick description’ (p. 347). Eachrespondent was interviewed for twelve to fifteen hours and the interviewswere designed to complement the first-person descriptions of the brand usewith the contextual details of the informants’ life worlds: ‘To stimulatediscussion, kitchen cabinets were opened and informants were instructed to‘tell the story’ behind any brand in the inventory’ (Fournier 1998, p. 347).The life-story information is gathered at a closing interview. Theresearch design had two purposes: ‘Interviews were designed to yield twocomplementary types of information: (1) a first-person description of theinformant’s brand usage history and (2) contextual details concerning theinformant’s life world’ (p. 347).Source Fournier (1998)The relational approach 167Box 8.5 Stories can be helped alongConsumers’ unstructured stories about brand consumption can be helpedalong by the use of images. In a phenomenological study of coffeeconsumption ‘informant-generated’images were used to stimulate stories ofbrand use. Ten days before the interviews were to take place the respondentswere asked to collect a set of images describing ‘how they felt about coffee’(coffee category images) and another set of images capturing their feelingstowards their favourite coffee brand.The interviews (of two to three or five hours) were then structured inthree parts:• Part one centred on the coffee category images. (How do respondentsfeel about coffee in general?) Central images were identified andladdering techniques were applied, meaning that the interviewee kept

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Conducting a long interview, the interviewer can apply the techniques of box 8.6.A depth interview requires a prior agreement and a set time, date, and place inorder to be successful (remember that a depth interview takes hours and that fore-seeable disturbances should be eliminated). It is important that the interviewee iswell aware of the magnitude of the task prior to the interview.The interviewer should be well prepared for the interview, meaning that he orshe should be well informed about the topic for the interview, but should stillkeep an open mind remembering that it is the respondent’s experiences that are ofinterest and considered valid in this kind of interview. Below you will find guide-lines for the conduction of depth interviews. First, we will explain some of thekey terms.Biographical questions are asked in order to record who the person is, as wellas to get the talk going. Grand-tour opening questions are very broad questionsopening up for the interview; these will guide the interviewer as to where theinterview might be going. Especially in the beginning of the interview,prompting techniques can be applied in order to help the interview along.Prompting techniques are techniques to express interest to help the intervieweealong and make them elaborate on the topic. It can be done by raising youreyebrows or repeating the last word of a sentence in an interested way in order toencourage the respondent to explain more. The interviewer is also encouraged to‘play dumb’. It is important not to intimidate the respondent by appearing tooclever or superior in other ways. Playing decidedly dumb might not provenecessary but is preferable to the opposite. Remember that you are allowedaccess into the life world of the respondent and he or she should feel ascomfortable as possible about letting you in. A successful depth interview isvery much a matter of trust.asking questions regarding the meaning of the pictures in order tocapture the full context of category meaning.• In part two of the interviews, insight into the use of coffee wasobtained. Especially, how coffee consumption has changed over thecourse of time in the lives of the respondents was highlighted.• The final part of the interviews focused on the consumers’ brand rela-tionships with their favourite coffee brands. The images identified byrespondents to depict how they felt about their favourite coffee brandswere used to help the stories along.Deep insight into coffee consumption in general, category use in differentstages of life, and relationships with favourite brands was obtained throughthis method. Comparing stage one and stage three of the interviews high-lighted the difference between coffee consumption in general and perceivedbrand relationships specifically.Source Fournier and Yao (1997)168 Seven brand approaches

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The task is not to test some predefined ‘truths’ but to discover the idiosyncratictruth of your respondent: ‘People ascribe meaning to the objects that present them-selves in consciousness. The task of the researcher is to explore events or processesby gathering first-hand descriptions of these feelings, thoughts and perceptions’(Hackley 2003, p. 114). And remember that the respondent is always the expert!Data analysisThe recorded and transcribed depth interviews contain huge amounts of unstruc-tured data. This kind of data is difficult to categorize but should open upcompletely new insights. Therefore, the data analysis is a complicated andimportant part of the process. It requires an ‘insider perspective’of the researcher.Since the lived or felt experiences of respondents are considered valid data, theresearcher strives for proximity to these experiences. (In positivist research tradi-tions the researcher strives for distance to the objects of study.)Repeated analysis is required in order to detect central quotations that can bebeneficial in order to pinpoint important themes and metaphors. Repeated analysisalso implies the possibility of ‘auto-correcting loops’, a process of detecting newand central patterns in the interview by going through it repeatedly. These loopsensure the integration of the researcher’s and the respondent’s perspectives as wellas a holistic approach to the investigation.Preferably, data collection and analysis should be conducted by the same personto further ensure the holistic perspective.Box 8.6 Conduct a long interview yourself• Start out by asking biographical questions. (Ask about age, occupation,family background, etc.)• Ask ‘grand-tour opening questions’, e.g. if you investigate consumptionof sports goods, start out by asking broad questions regarding yourrespondent’s interest in sport before going into the more detailed ques-tions about their preferred brands.• Apply prompting techniques for the grand-tour opening questions, e.g.repeat the last word of a sentence, and raise your eyebrows in order tomake your respondent comfortable about telling his or her stories.• Listen for key terms, topic avoidance, and minor misunderstandings.• Allow minor changes of subject – they might lead to further insight.• If not, gently get the interview back on track.• Eventually ‘play dumb’.• Do not disturb the process by taking notes.• Record the interview on tape or video.• Get a verbatim transcript of the interview for analysis.Source McCracken (1988)The relational approach 169

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SummaryThe relational approach is founded on the scientific tradition of phenomenology.Phenomenology implies that focus is on the ‘inner world’ of people, and not the‘outer world’ that can be subject to other kinds of study.Respondents’ perceptions of their own experiences are considered valid data aswell as the topic of interest in this research tradition. Depth interviews combinedwith life story methods are the most suitable methods for gaining insight into thelife-worlds of respondents.Conducting a phenomenological study, the researcher should strive for prox-imity to the research process and should ideally collect data as well as analysethem. Data analysis should contain auto-correcting loops in order to detect centralthemes and metaphors to structure the large and unstructured amounts of data.Implications of the relational approachBy now it should be clear that the relational approach introduces a dyadic brandperspective, an existential view of the consumer, phenomenological methods, anda precise conceptualization of key brand relationship concepts (brand relationshipforms and the brand relationship quality construct). All these elements draw anaccurate and coherent picture of the radical shift in brand management that is theconsequence of the relational approach.The big challenge is, however, to transform the above described characteristicsof the relational approach into managerial implications that are actually adaptableto real-life situations. Talking about the appropriateness of conceiving the brand as170 Seven brand approachesTheoryMethods and dataAssumptionsManagerial implicationsFigure 8.6 Methods and data of the relational approach

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a meaning-based construct created in a dynamic and dyadic process between brandand consumer is much easier than adapting these thoughts to actual brandingstrategies! The literature behind the relational approach is very accurate anddetailed when it comes to methods and scientific background. The same literaturedoes not, however, give much advice when it comes to managing the brand, nordoes it provide insight into best practice case examples: ‘Relationship marketing ispowerful in theory but troubled in practice’(Fournier et al. 1998, p. 44).As mentioned in chapter 1, the analysis behind this book rests upon the Kuhniannotions of paradigms and scientific revolutions. And the relational approachseems to be the indicator of a major paradigm shift in brand management.Therefore, we have chosen to touch only briefly upon the managerial implicationsof the relational approach and thereby also leave space to focus on its academicimplications. There should be no doubt of the importance of the relationalapproach; it seems almost impossible to find a brand management publicationfrom 1998 and onwards that does not quote Fournier’s brand relationship theory.Managerial implicationsFrom the literature we can deduce the following implications: the managementhas to be founded on meaning; the marketer is offered the opportunity to go farbeyond the concept of brand loyalty; a relationship is a volatile entity; and theamount of information can be overwhelming. The same literature, however,provides some overall guidelines on how to manage a ‘relational’ brand success-fully. The brand has to act as a true friend.The fact that the process is dynamic implies that the management of the brand isan ongoing process in which meaning is negotiated on a continuous basis. Themarketer should be able and willing to continuously adapt the strategy to fluctua-tions on the meaning negotiation. Managing meaning thereby requires insight intothe lives of the brand’s customers as well as a continuous integration of the livedexperiences of consumers into the execution of the brand strategy. This conditionleads to one of the factors that make the management of the relational branddifficult: the risk of information overload.Wanting to manage your brand by means of the brand relationship theory, youneed real and deep insight into your consumer base: ‘True customer intimacy – thebackbone of a successful, rewarding relationship – requires a deep understandingof the context in which our products and services are used in the course of ourcustomers’ day-to-day lives’ (Fournier et al. 1998, p. 49). As explained in themethods and data section of this chapter, the methods for acquiring the right kindof data in the relational approach supply the marketer with a vast amount ofunstructured data. This data and information complexity in the relational processcontains the risk of a standstill.By entering the ‘life-worlds’of your consumers you have the opportunity to gaintrue insight into how the brand in question fits into the lives of customers. A ‘rela-tional’ marketer collecting and analysing knowledge about his or her customersruns the risk of having to integrate incompatible knowledge in the brandingThe relational approach 171

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strategy. The trick is to find some common factors in the meaning negotiationbetween the brand and key customers and integrate them in the branding strategy.Hence, it is difficult not to get lost in the potential information overload of therelational approach. The deep, and potentially insightful, knowledge of consumersand their lives offers the marketer the main advantage of the relational approach:the opportunity of going beyond brand loyalty.Understanding brand consumption in the light of the relational approach offersthe marketer the opportunity to answer questions not answered by measurements ofbrand loyalty (if the brand is consumed on a continuous base versus how and why).Wanting to reap the benefits from deepening the loyalty concept through use ofthe brand relationship theory should be weighed up against the difficulties ofmanaging a consumer–brand relationship. Getting the management of the rela-tions-based brand right should start by the implementation of the assumptionsbehind the theory. The brand is perceived as being endowed with a personality, thebrand–consumer exchange is assumed to be dyadic, and ‘dialogue’ and ‘friend-ship’ seem to be appropriate metaphors. The personality of the brand as well as thenorms and values of the consumer strongly influence the evaluation of the brand’sactions. These assumptions should serve as guidelines when managing the brandin question. The brand should act as a true friend.The marketer needs to be open to a truly equal and dyadic relationship. In allaspects, there should be a balance between ‘giving’and ‘getting’. If over-exploited(for instance by an excessive gathering of data in any encounter with the marketer)the consumer might see the marketer engaged in relationship marketing as anenemy rather than a friend. A friendly marketer respects the basic rules offriendship (to provide emotional support, to respect privacy, to preserve confi-dences and to be tolerant of other friendships among others) and should applythem to the management of the brand: ‘For the brand to serve as legitimate rela-tionship partner, it must surpass the personification qualification and actuallybehave as an active, contributing member of the dyad’ (Fournier 1998, p. 345).Furthermore, the marketer should be open and honest about the motivation forapproaching the consumer and in return offer the consumer benefits corre-sponding to the inconvenience.The marketer should be very aware not to exploit the consumer’s confidenceand be aware to return any favour in one way or the other. A consumer willing to‘share secrets’ should receive some benefits and in all be treated as a friend inorder for the brand relationship to develop and grow. Quid pro quo is a funda-mental principle in the relational approach.Academic implicationsThe relational approach implies a major paradigmatic shift in brandmanagement and can be identified as the one approach leading brandmanagement into the twenty-first century. As described in chapter 3, the periodof analysis (1985–2006) can be divided into three periods, the first focusing onthe sending end of brand communication, the second with a focus on the172 Seven brand approaches

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receiving end and the third emphasizing the context of brand consumption. Therelational approach belongs to the second period of time where the consumer isthe pivotal point. The relational approach is, however, very different from theother two approaches emphasizing the consumer (the consumer-based approachand the personality approach).We have three reasons for identifying the relational approach as an importantindicator of a paradigm shift. First, it is the first approach applying solely quali-tative methods. Second, the approach is meaning-based. Third, it takes brandresearch into the domain of the consumer, emphasizing a holistic view of theconsumer. The interest in consumers’ life worlds is associated with a phenomeno-logical research tradition. For these three reasons, we see the relational approachas a trailblazer for the two forthcoming approaches, namely the communityapproach and the cultural approach.The concept of meaning is often opposed to the concept of information.Information is considered external stimuli to the consumer, while meaning stemsfrom the inner reality, life and identity of the consumer: ‘Phenomenology canconceive consumption not merely as behavioural response to external stimuli butas a meaning-directed behaviour driven by emotions, feelings and fantasies’(Hackley 2003, p. 112).A phenomenological approach adapts a psychological view of the individual.Thereby, the relational approach is based on an idiosyncratic view of meaningcreation, based on a basic idea that reality construction takes place in the mind.The notion of meaning is also central to the community approach and the culturalapproach, but in these approaches meaning is found in the social interaction withothers and in the surrounding culture and society, respectively. In that sense, therelational approach is the first meaning-based approach of three.Psychological phenomenology is about investigating how an individualinteracts with external objects to learn about the structures that make up the indi-vidual’s construction of reality. Phenomenology has special capabilities foruncovering non-rational aspects of consumption.The phenomenological tradition features a distinctive take on the question ofvalidity. The positivist research traditions assume an outer reality, a reality thatcan be touched, studied and measured. In this tradition, validity means thatdifferent studies performed by different researchers should end up with exactlythe same result.In the phenomenological tradition, ‘lived’or ‘felt’experience is considered valid,which depicts clearly how different the phenomenological tradition is from the posi-tivist research ideal. Reality is not ‘out there’ to be touched and measured but israther constituted within the individual respondents. How we perceive and feelabout a phenomenon constitutes the phenomenon – the world is inseparable from thesubject, and vice versa. Phenomenological perspectives will thereby be subjectivistand the first person perspective is an important prerequisite in phenomenology forgenerating knowledge. It is assumed that no underlying world exists which is raisedover perception and conceptualizing. In other words, the way phenomena areperceived by the individual constitutes the true world: ‘Phenomenological socialThe relational approach 173

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research takes the embodied, experiencing agent as a starting point and explores themutually constructed ‘life-world’of participants, the world of lived experience fromwhich all others derive’(Hackley 2003, p. 112). To exemplify: if a consumer experi-ences a shopping experience as hurtful, then the shopping experience is hurtful, nomatter if videotapes or witnesses contest that no harm was done to the customer.In consumer research the contrasting views of consumer behaviour in thedominant information-processing perspective (reflected in the consumer-basedapproach, chapter 6) and a phenomenological perspective is identified. In table 8.2some of the main differences are highlighted. Going through these differencesshould make it easier to understand why – and how – the relational approachimplies such a significant shift in the way brands and consumers are perceived.By adding the phenomenological (experiential) consumer behaviour perspectiveto the discipline of brand management, the brand is taken into a whole new era,174 Seven brand approachesTable 8.2 Differences between the information-processing and the experiential consumerperspectiveInformation processing Experiential/phenomenologicalProducts Objective features Subjective featuresTangible benefits Symbolic benefitsStimulus properties Verbal Non-verbalResources Money TimeTask definition Problem-solving Hedonic responseType of involvement Cognitive responses Reaction, arousalLeft-brain Right-brainSearch activity Information acquisition Exploratory behaviourIndividual differences Demographics CreativitySocio-economics ReligionCognition Memory SubconsciousKnowledge structure ImageryBeliefs Fantasies/daydreamsThought generation Free associationAffect Attitudes EmotionsPreferences FeelingsBehaviour Buying UsagePurchase decision Consumption experienceChoices ActivitiesCriteria Utilitarian AestheticWork PlayMentality: economic Mentality: psychosocialOutput consequences Function FunResults EnjoymentPurpose PleasureSource Hirschman and Holbrook (1992)

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where brand consumption and brand loyalty are to be understood as closely inter-twined with consumers’‘inner realities’. The focus is not on the mere transaction orthe exact moment of choice but on all that lies behind consumption choices. Theconsumer’s whole identity (as perceived by the consumer himself) is to be under-stood if one wants to gain insight into brand consumption.Thereby, the emphasis moves away from the domain of the marketer and intothe ‘chaotic’ domain of consumers. Even though the managerial implications ofthe relational approach are not very concrete, the approach leads the way towardsnew horizons where the role of consumers’ social interaction (the communityapproach) and their cultural context (the cultural approach) are being conceptu-alized and translated to managerial implications. These approaches also feature avariety of qualitative methods that have become acceptable by the launch – andimmense success – of the relational approach.It seems that brand management in a way ‘lets go’ of the brand via thisapproach. The brand is suddenly ‘out there’ in a chaotic and ever-changingcontext. In the previous approaches, the concrete interaction between brand andconsumer is being investigated from different angles and there is a focus ondefining what a brand is. In the relational, the community and the culturalapproaches brand management research seems to expand focus to differentscenarios (consumers’ individual life worlds, social interaction with otherconsumers, and cultural context, respectively) where the brand is not the ‘maincharacter’or the starting point of the research, but merely a factor like many othersin complex individual, social and cultural networks.SummaryThe management of a brand relationship is a dynamic process, leaving room forthe negotiation of both similar and conflicting views and many different players. Itgoes without saying that it is difficult to manage in practice. The approach ismeaning-based, implying brand value is co-created in an ongoing process betweenbrand and consumer. This means that the marketer has to let go of total control ofthe brand and incorporate the meaning created by consumers in the managementof the brand. Furthermore, the management is considered a very dynamic processwhere the meaning is constantly negotiated under the influence of the manyfactors influencing both human and brand relationships.In truly understanding the consumers lies a risk of information overload,leaving the marketer with too much knowledge to incorporate it in the brandcommunication. The approach, however, also contains the opportunity to go farbeyond the notion of brand loyalty and understand how and why the brand is beingconsumed on a continuous basis in addition to if it is being consumed.If one wants to reap the benefits of this understanding, it is pivotal to treatcustomers as true friends. The real-life brand relationship should reflect theprerequisites of the relational approach in the sense that the brand–consumerexchange is seen as a dyadic and dynamic process. The consumer should accord-ingly be treated as an equal partner and not just sources of information.The relational approach 175

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The relational approach has some very profound consequences for the futuredevelopment of the scientific discipline of brand management. It is a clear indi-cator of a paradigmatic shift for three reasons: it implies a shift towards quali-tative methods, it is meaning-based, and it emphasizes understanding of the lifeworlds of consumers rather than measuring the mere brand–consumer transac-tions. In that way it opens the way to the further development of the disciplineembodied in the two approaches to come: the community approach and thecultural approach.Comments from the ‘founding fathers’(4)The value of the relationship approach to the study and managementof brandsSusan Fournier, Boston University School of ManagementNearly twenty years ago I was promoted to Vice-president ofConsumer–Brand Relationships at Young & Rubicam, an advertisingagency in New York. The position was my idea: a translation of the revolu-tionary B2B relationship marketing paradigm into the B2C world. I quit twoweeks later on the heels of a stark realization that the frameworks andconcepts I would need to execute my position had yet to be created. So off Iwent to the University of Florida to pursue the development ofconsumer–brand relationship theory in consumer research.TheoryManagerialimplicationsAssumptionsMethods and dataFigure 8.7 Managerial implications of the relational approach176 Seven brand approaches

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The case was not an easy sell to a faculty comprised largely of dyed-in-the-wool experimental cognitive psychologists who thought of brands aseconomic sources of information. People have relationships with inanimatebrands, do they? Do tell! The methods I brought to bear to illuminate myphenomenon were equally troubling. My thesis rested largely on phenome-nological interviews among three—yes, three—women. The addition ofscale development work and some LISREL modelling surely helped. But, inthe end, the brand relationship ideas I generated seemed to sell themselves.My thesis set forth several essential relationship tenets that helped academicsand practitioners think about their brands in new and powerful ways.The first tenet stated that the provision of meaning lay at the core of allconsumer–brandrelationships.Consumer–brandrelationshipswerepurposeful;they were engaged as meaning-laden resources to help people to live their lives.Consumers played active roles as meaning makers in the brand relationship,mutating and adapting brand meanings to fit their life projects and tasks.Significant brand relationships were based not on low or high categoryinvolvement levels, but on the significance of the brand’s meanings in theperson’s life. Even mundane goods could foster strong relationships providedtheir meanings resonated in the personal and cultural world.A second tenet emphasized the variability of brand relationship types andforms. The relationship perspective forced us to acknowledge that highlycommitted and emotive brand loyal relationships were not the only mean-ingful consumer–brand engagements.Abroadened view of relationship spaceincluded flings, secret affairs, committed partnerships, and friendships, not tomention adversaries, enmities, and master–slaves. Each of these relationshipswas governed by a unique set of contract rules: ‘do’s’and ‘don’ts’concerningbehaviours in the relationship. Friends should not reveal secrets to others, forexample, and marital spouses should not cheat. Brand relationships could bedistinguished as strong versus weak, hierarchical versus egalitarian, formalversus informal, positive versus negative. Strong relationships could be qual-ified beyond loyalty and affect using the brand relationship quality (BRQ)scale and its added facets of self connection, sociocultural connection, interde-pendence, partner role quality, and intimacy. The astute relationship managerrecognized that consumer–brand relationships were complex, and managedrelationships according to their operative dimensions and rules.A third tenet supported that relationships were dynamic and reciprocatingphenomena that evolved and changed over time. Relationships unfoldedthrough stages, including Initiation, Growth, Maintenance, and Decline.They manifested characteristic development trajectories: Biological LifeCycle, Passing Fad, Cyclical Resurgence, and Approach Avoidance Curve.Importantly, everything the brand did had the potential to affect the rela-tionship. Brand behaviours—from packaging and logo choices to the saluta-tions on customer service letters—sent ‘signals’ regarding the type ofThe relational approach 177

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Student questions1 Which scientific tradition is associated with the relational approach?2 Which philosophical tradition is associated with the scientific tradition?3 Describe the difference between life themes, life projects and current concerns.4 What is animism?5 Which factors influence brand relationship quality?6 Which are the most important methods in the scientific tradition of the relationalapproach?7 How does the perception of validity in this approach differ from a positivistvalidity perception?8 Should you as a researcher attempt to base your study on as many respondentsas possible?9 How should you avoid becoming the enemy in the eyes of the consumer?10 Explain why the relational approach indicates a paradigm shift.References and further readingKey readings are in bold type.Aaker, J. L. (1997) ‘Dimensions of brand personality’, Journal of Marketing Research, 34(August): 347–56Aaker, J. and Fournier, S. (1995) ‘Abrand as a character, a partner and a person: three perspec-tives on the question of brand personality’, Advances in Consumer Research, 22: 391–5relationship contract that was in place. These signals controlled inferencesand relationship strength levels. Sometimes the consumers’ received viewof the relationship was not what the managers thought they had in play.The relationship perspective was powerful in that it forced marketingresearchers and practitioners to acknowledge important principlesgoverning consumers’ engagements with brands. Co-creation. Personal andCultural Resonance. Implicit Contracts. Relationship Norms. BrandRelationship Quality and Strength. Consumer Relationship Management.These constructs and essential tenets have helped us to better understand,measure, and manage our brands. Recent research continues to build uponbasic relationship fundamentals, exploring, for example, the rules andbiases associated with communal versus exchange relationship templates,accommodation and tolerance processes in relationship development, rela-tionship transgressions, relationship dissolution processes, personal rela-tionship styles and their influence in the brand relationship space,sociopolitical brand relationships, ethnic and cultural differences in brandrelationship behaviours, methods for relationship strength measurement,and the functions and provisions of relationships with brands. I amhonoured to have participated in this paradigm shift in marketing thought.178 Seven brand approaches

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9 The community approachwith a commentary by Associate Professor of Marketing, Albert M. Muniz Jr, DePaul University, and Professor of Marketing Thomas C. O’Guinn, WisconsinSchool of BusinessLearning objectivesThe purpose of this chapter is to:Understand the assumptions of the community approach• The idea of a ‘triadic’ brand relationship is central to the communityapproach• A social brand perspective is introduced to brand managementUnderstand the main theoretical building blocks and how they areconnected• Community theory• Subcultures of consumption• Brand communityProvide insights into the variety of methods used to research brandcommunities• Ethnographic methods• ‘Netnography’Understand the managerial implications• The marketer as observer• The marketer as facilitator

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182 Seven brand approachesThe Sacramento Jaguar Club is introduced as:We are a group of people who enjoy the company of other JAGUAR enthusiasts.We enjoy dining together, driving our cars together and attending variousevents together. Whether you now own a JAGUAR, would like to own aJAGUAR, or you once owned a JAGUAR you are welcome to join us for fun,feasting, and general merriment.(Jaguar Clubs of North America, www.jcna.com)Googling ‘Apple user groups’ results in more than 16 million hits, indicating theenormous interest consumers have in the sharing of their Apple consumptionexperiences with other Apple users.Consumers form communities around brands. In brand communities, a brand isthe focal point of social interaction among passionate consumers. These consumersuse the community to share their brand experiences and brand stories. Brandcommunities may rest entirely on consumer interaction, while others are more orless facilitated by a marketer, but they tend to evolve and thrive around old brandswith an interesting history and high involvement products such as cars, motorcycles and computers. Brand communities can be a very powerful force affectingbrand value, because the meaning found in the social engagement – the ‘dining’,‘fun’ and ‘feasting’ of the Sacramento Jaguar Club or the exchange of user tips inApple user groups – in brand communities adds significantly to brand loyalty.Brand communities have existed for long in practice. The ‘breakthrough’ researcharticle on the subject was ‘Brand community’by Muñiz and O’Guinn (published in2001 in Journal of Consumer of Research). This publication constituted theconceptualization of the brand community in the context of brand management.This chapter offers insights into the assumptions, key theoretical elementsand methods of the community approach and finishes off by providing themanagerial guidelines.Assumptions of the community approachThe brand approaches of the 1990s (the consumer-based approach, the personalityapproach and the relational approach) dealt with the exchange between onemarketer and one consumer. All three approaches fundamentally changed the tradi-tional notion of brand equity as something created entirely in the domain of themarketer. The personality approach and the relational approach further constitutedbrand value as something co-created in a dialogue between marketer and consumer(the ‘dyadic’ brand relationship). The community approach adds meaning found inthe social interaction among dedicated brand consumers (the ‘triadic’ brand rela-tionship) to the theories of how brand value can be created: ‘The brand communitiesare social entities that reflect the situated embeddedness of brands in the day-to-daylives of consumers and the ways in which brands connect consumer to brand, andconsumer to consumer’ (Muñiz and O’Guinn 2001, p. 418). In other words, theexistence of a brand community also requires interaction between consumers.

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The assumptions of the community approach fall into two categories. First, the‘brand triad’notion implies changes in the way the ‘brand–consumer exchange’isperceived. Second, the community approach adds a social brand perspective tobrand management. The methods used to research brand communities borrowfrom the scientific tradition of ethnography. These methods reflect the newassumptions in the context of brand management, since the ethnographic researchtradition builds on a socio-cultural rather than individualistic perception of man(or in brand management, the consumer).The ‘brand–consumer exchange’[brands] are social entities experienced, shaped, and changed in communities.Therefore, although brand meaning might be ascribed and communicated toconsumers by marketers, consumers in turn uncover and activate their ownbrand meanings, which is communicated back to the marketers and the asso-ciated brand community.(Brown et al. 2003, p. 31)The community approach adds groups of consumers to the picture, which changesthe basic premises of the ‘brand–consumer exchange’. In the continuousbrand–consumer dialogue shaping the brand, the marketer no longer finds himselfhaving a dialogue with only one consumer, but with potentially millions ofconsumers. These consumers are likely to continue the brand dialogue long afterthe marketer believes the meeting is over. New rules of the game apply to themanagement of a brand, when countless consumers are able to share good and badexperiences, their roaring enthusiasm, and incredible rumours in face-to-facesettings as well as on the internet.ConsumerConsumerBrandFigure 9.1 The ‘brand triad’: a brand community exists only when there is interactionbetween at least two consumersThe community approach 183

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The social benefits experienced by consumers in brand communities add signif-icantly to brand loyalty. Community consumers are extremely loyal and enthusi-astic consumers, but at the same time, communities of consumers are alsoautonomous consumers capable of collectively rejecting marketing actions. Manyof the advantages associated with consuming the brand are created or enhancedamong the community members, leaving the marketer with limited options ofinfluencing brand meaning. This shift in negotiation power influences the creationof brand meaning and brand equity as the negotiation of brand meaning primarilytakes place on consumers’ terms.Due to the shift in negotiation power, communities are difficult to manage.Consumers are able to ‘hijack’ a brand (Wipperfürth 2005) and endow it withbrand meaning very far from that intended by the marketer or choose to overrulemanagement decisions as in the case of the Apple Newton brand.Besides providing social benefits to consumers, brand communities serve asimportant information sources. The sharing of brand information can benefit bothconsumers and marketers.Brand management from the community approach perspective is complex, and theautonomous groups of consumers can be hard to deal with. But the levels of brandloyalty and the depths of brand meaning found in communities can be priceless,making it worth while knowing the basic mechanisms ruling this approach.The socio-cultural perspectiveThe social brand perspective put forward in the community approach draws on thescientific tradition of ethnography. This tradition represents an intellectualBox 9.1 Who owns the Apple brand now?Apple introduced a handheld personal computer – the Apple Newton – in1993. In 1998 Apple chose to discontinue the Newton and take the Applebrand in new directions with, among other things, the iMac and the iPod.Even though Apple chose to manage the brand differently, ‘autonomous’consumers keep the Apple Newton brand alive in a vibrant grass-rootsbrand community. Dedicated Newton users have taken over the responsibil-ities of the marketer and are now running a web-based brand communitythat has at least 22,000 daily users. Offering technical support, softwaredevelopment and the cultivation of brand meaning, the brand communitykeeps the abandoned product and brand alive and kicking. Mythical andsupernatural narratives are part of the Newton brand community ethos andare used for telling tales of miraculous performance and the survival of thebrand, investing the brand with powerful brand meaning.Source Muñiz and Schau (2005)184 Seven brand approaches

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framework as well as a set of methodologies. As an intellectual framework, itfocuses on the concept of culture and its influence on (consumer) behaviour. Themethodological orientation emphasizes a ‘real world’approach, which means thatresearchers participate in the real world of the subjects of investigation.Ethnography stems from the tradition of cultural anthropology.The publication of the brand community theory in 2001 set off a wave ofresearch. This wave of research introduced the ethnographic perspective in brandmanagement focusing on the consumer as a cultural player in a social setting usingthe consumption experience as the source of important personal social experiences.SummaryThis new research ‘cluster’acknowledges the social nature of brands and the inter-active involvement of groups of consumers in the creation of brand value andbrand meaning.Core to the community approach is the ‘triadic’ brand–consumer relationshipand the social brand perspective. The triadic relationship implies consumers mustinteract, not only with the brand, but also with each other. The marketer is outnum-bered in the brand–consumer exchange, making management of the branddifficult. At the same time, the existence of a brand community represents greatadvantages such as unforeseen levels of consumer loyalty and the possibility tocultivate deep consumer-driven brand meaning.The community approach hence represents a social brand perspective and isassociated with the scientific tradition of ethnography.The community approach 185AssumptionsTheoryMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 9.2 Assumptions of the community approach

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Theoretical building blocks of the community approachThe key constructs of the brand community theory will be presented in thissection. They are the three markers of community: the question of geography, theinterconnectedness with subcultures of consumptions, and different variations ofthe brand community (the brandfest, the brand community and the communitybrand). But in order to understand the origin of the brand community concept, it isessential to know the origin of these concepts. The two supporting themes arehence initially presented before the core construct.Supporting theme:Subcultures ofConsumptionSupporting theme:Community TheoryCore theme:Brand CommunityFigure 9.3 Supporting themes of brand communitySharedrituals andtraditionsGeographically boundSharedconsciousnessof kindA sense ofmoralresponsibilityCommunityFigure 9.4 Conceptualization of the community in the sociological tradition186 Seven brand approaches

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The brand community theory draws mainly on two supporting themes: theoriesabout communities and subcultures of consumption.Supporting theme: community theoryThe word ‘community’ is comprehensible to everybody, but how it is to be under-stood in the context of brand community requires a more accurate definition.Community is a key concept in sociology characterized by having three markers –three basic characteristics – transcending the countless shapes and forms of acommunity. The three markers of a community are: consciousness of kind, sharedrituals and traditions, and a sense of moral responsibility.If these characteristics are present, a community does exist in theory. In thetraditional sense of the word, a community is a geographically bound entity. Acommunity may be geographically bound in a neighbourhood or at the premises ofa tennis club. In the same sense it can be formal (the tennis club requiring amembership) or informal (the neighbourhood community feeling is simply there).Supporting theme: subcultures of consumptionThe brand community theory is also inspired and influenced by research intosubcultures of consumptions. Subcultures of consumption were first conceptu-alized in 1995 by researchers Schouten and McAlexander after a three-year ethno-graphic study of groups of Harley-Davidson bikers. The level of identificationbetween the Harley-Davidson bikes and their consumers facilitated the emergenceof subcultures. These findings added social interaction to concepts like consumerloyalty, brand meaning, etc., and have inspired a whole new stream of researchinto the social aspects of consumption. The difference between a subculture ofconsumption and a brand community will be depicted at the end of this section.Core theme: the brand communityResearchers Muñiz and O’Guinn pinpointed the existence of brand communities,when they observed: ‘active and meaningful negotiation of the brand betweenconsumer collectives and market institutions’ (Muñiz and O’Guinn 2005, p. 252).During the course of a two-year study of consumers and their social interactionaround three brands (Saab, Ford Bronco and Macintosh). Muñiz and O’Guinnfound proof of the existence of brand communities and defined them as ‘aspecialized, non-geographically bound community, based on a structured set ofsocial relationships among users of a brand’ (2001, p. 421).The research took place in both face-to-face settings and on websites relating tothe three brands of study. The three markers of community were displayed in bothkinds of environment. Muñiz and O’Guinn were hence able to introduce the brandcommunity notion to the academic world of brand management. Since the threemarkers of community were displayed in both environments, the brandcommunity notion led to a dissolution of the geographical aspect of the originalThe community approach 187

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community definition. Brand communities exist in face-to-face clubs as well as invirtual environments facilitated where ‘imagined others’ share their passion for acertain brand. A brand community is therefore not restricted by geography, unlikethe traditional perception of the community being a geographically bound entity.The community in a brand context relates to a common understanding of a sharedidentity. The internet is of course an important vehicle in the formation of commu-nities based on the sense of a shared identity with ‘imagined others’.As regards the first marker of a community: ‘consciousness of kind’findings inthe research suggest that ‘Members feel an important connection to the brand, butmore importantly, they feel a stronger connection toward one another. Membersfeel that they ‘sort of know each other’at some level, even if they have never met’(Muñiz and O’Guinn 2001, p. 418).188 Seven brand approachesGeographically bound or dispersedConscious-ness of kind;Legitimacy:e.g. newSaab driversare met withscepticismOppositionalbrand loyalty:e.g. a sharedoppositionto VolvoSharedrituals andtraditions;Rituals:e.g. Saabgreeting ritualStorytelling:e.g. the SaabaircraftconnectionA sense ofmoral re-sponsibility;Integrating/retainingmembersAssistance inthe use of thebrand:e.g. Saabassistance onthe highwayBrand CommunityFigure 9.5 Brand community construct (with examples from the Saab community) asconceptualized by Muñiz and O’Guinn, ‘Brand community’, Journal of ConsumerResearch, 27 (2001), pp. 412–31

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This feeling of ‘sort of knowing each other’is characterized by and enhanced bytwo aspects: ‘legitimacy’ and ‘oppositional brand loyalty’. ‘Legitimacy’ is basedon observations indicating that members have a feeling of other members eitherbeing members for the right or the wrong reasons.As expressed by one communitymember: ‘We’are the members ‘really knowing’how and why the brand should beconsumed, while ‘they’ consume the brand for the ‘wrong reasons’. ‘Oppositionalbrand loyalty’is the other characteristic that can enhance members’‘consciousnessof kind’. Brand community members underpin this sense of belonging by sharinga dislike for competing brands. Macintosh community members tend to criticizePCs and Microsoft, while in the Saab brand community, for instance, there is ageneral tendency to put down the competing Swedish car brand, Volvo.The second marker of community, ‘Shared rituals and traditions’‘typically focuson shared consumption experiences with the brand. All the brand communitiesencountered in this project have some form of rituals or traditions that function tomaintain the culture of the community’(ibid., p. 421). These rituals include specialgreetings, a celebration of the history of the brand, and sharing stories of the brand;‘Storytelling is an important means of creating and maintaining community’(ibid.,p. 423). The storytelling aspect of the brand community can be very powerful. Inthe case of the Apple Newton brand community ‘Supernatural, religious, andmagical motifs are common … There are strong elements of survival, the mirac-ulous, and the return of the creator’(Muñiz and Schau 2005, p. 739).The third marker of a brand community; ‘sense of moral responsibility’, ‘is asense of duty to the community as a whole, and to the individual members of thecommunity, and it ‘is what produces collective action and contributes to groupcohesion’ (ibid., p. 424); these characteristics were also displayed in the socialinteraction around the three brands in question. The communities display moralsystems, but not in a very high-flown sense of the word – they do not relate to life-and-death matters: ‘Moral systems can be subtle, and are highly contextualized.Such is the case with brand communities’ (ibid.). These moral systems serve twomajor purposes: the integration and retention of members and the assistance ofmembers in the proper use of the brand.Brandfests, brand communities and community brandsThe quintessential brand community pivots around an already existing brand and isusually established and run by enthusiastic volunteers. However, the three markersof community can also be observed at so-called brandfests, where a proactivemarketer establishes consumer interaction that can facilitate the evolvement of abrand community. McAlexander et al.’s (2002) study of the intentional building ofbrand communities offers insight into the possibilities of a proactive marketer. If themarketer understands and respects the dynamics of a brand community it is possibleto proactively create a platform that facilitates a brand community to evolve: ‘Evenowners who came to events dwelling on how different they felt from others often leftafter two or three days believing they belonged to a broader community that under-stands and supports them in realizing their consumption goals’ (ibid. 2002, p. 42).The community approach 189

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Corporate-sponsored brandfests are often used for recruitment of new members,while the existing communities typically consist of diehard brand enthusiasts.Brands like Napster and Linux add a new category to the approach. Theinternet-based sharing of, respectively, MP3 files and an operating system forcomputers that can be downloaded free of charge is in fact created by acommunity. They are both not only powerful brands but also masters ofcompletely changing the premises of their businesses. MySpace and YouTube arealso interesting cases to consider if one wants to gain insight into how the premisesof the community approach have in fact changed whole industries by fundamen-tally changing how consumers interact. These community brands display the samecharacteristics as the brand communities and brandfests but add anotherdimension to the scope of the approach, since no marketer (in the traditional senseof the word) exists. Still, it is the principles of the community approach that apply.Brand communities and subcultures of consumptionAs explained above, the formulation of a brand community theory is very muchinfluenced by subcultures of consumption. The two concepts, however, differsignificantly and should not be confused. ‘A subculture of consumption [is] adistinctive subgroup of society that self-selects on the basis of a sharedcommitment to a particular product class, brand, or consumption activity’(Schouten and McAlexander 1995, p. 43).Apart from this self-selection, different markers from the three markers charac-terizing a brand community are used to characterize a subculture: The markers ofa subculture of consumption are:• A hierarchical social structure.• Ethos is manifested in shared beliefs and values.• Unique jargons and rituals.• Unique modes of symbolic expressions.These characteristics are more far-reaching than the ‘consciousness of kind’,‘rituals and traditions’and ‘sense of moral responsibility’that characterize a brandcommunity. In this regard it is important to notice that the membership of a190 Seven brand approachesTable 9.1 Variations of brand communityBrandfests Brand communities Community brandsMarketer’s role An endorsing marketer An existing marketer The community isthe marketerConsumers’role Open to share brand Co-creators of Creators of brandmeaning brand meaning meaningExamples Camp Jeep Car clubs NapsterHarley Davidson rallies Apple user pages Linux

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consumption subculture (being formal or informal) is more demanding than themembership of a brand community. A subculture tends to define itself in oppo-sition to the broader culture, which is not the case with brand communities. ‘Brandcommunities do not typically reject aspects of the surrounding culture’s ideology.They embrace them’ (Muñiz and O’Guinn 2001, p. 414).In the subculture the brand has a socially fixed meaning. In brand communities,brand meaning is socially negotiated rather than delivered unaltered fromconsumer to consumer. The subculture study is more individually focused on thetransformation of self where the brand community approach departs in a socialconstructionist perspective.SummaryThe brand community concept is rooted in the sociological notion of communityand the idea of subcultures of consumption. Three markers characterize a brandcommunity: ‘consciousness of kind’, ‘rituals and traditions’ and a ‘sense of moralresponsibility’. Brand communities can be geographically bound as well asdispersed. The brand community concept expands into different variations;marketer-facilitated brandfests, typical brand communities run by enthusiasts, andcommunity brands where the community becomes the marketer. A brandcommunity does not define itself in opposition to the surrounding society, asopposed to a subculture of consumption.Having described the key theoretical building blocks of the communityapproach, the next section provides guidelines for how one can build a researchdesign to explore a brand community. This research is necessary if the aim is toThe community approach 191TheoryAssumptionsMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 9.6 Theoretical building blocks of the community approach

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analyse the potential to either facilitate or benefit from a brand community byobserving and extracting brand meaning to be used actively in a brand strategy.Methods and data of the community approachResearch in the community approach borrows from the scientific tradition ofethnography. Ethnography was developed around the turn of the twentieth centuryas a new approach to the study of cultural and sociological research phenomena.The pioneers of this new scientific approach sought ‘fundamental truths abouthuman nature, social affiliation, and the conduct of daily life’ (Mariampolski,2006, p. 4). Ethnography has (very roughly) evolved from a methodology used forthe study of ‘exotic’ and ‘primitive’ people in the early twentieth century to beingused increasingly for studies of cultural issues in all kinds of societies, to beingapplied to the arena of marketing research in the mid-1980s.Uncovering the socio-cultural interaction of a community cannot be done in alaboratory setting or by the use of questionnaires. Research into how meaning iscreated requires participation and an open mind. Academic ethnographic researchdesigns often span several years, requiring full immersion into the community ofinterest. Conducting a marketing-based study of a brand community is differentfrom conducting an academic study. The marketing study often needs to beconducted over a much shorter period and with a less explorative aim. But theprinciples of the ethnographic research tradition can still deliver valuable insightseven though the study has to adapt to limited resources and a tight time frame. Inthis section, these principles will be outlined along with an introduction to funda-mentals of ethnography’s twenty-first-century younger sister, ‘netnography’.The ethnographic research traditionEthnographic research is also known as field research, observational research orparticipant observation and is characterized by researcher participation and avariety of data:In its most characteristic form [it] involves the ethnographer participating,overtly or covertly, in people’s daily lives for an extended period of time,watching what happens, listening to what is said, asking questions – in fact,collecting whatever data are available to throw light on the issues that are thefocus of the research.(Hammersley and Atkinson 1994, p. 1)The ethnographic research tradition sets no limits on data collection. A participantresearcher is free to collect any kind of data that is believed to add to the study ofthe subject or phenomena of interest. Common data types are interviews (more orless structured), depth interviews, visual impressions, print, video-recording, andphotographs. Taking notes and photographs/video of all relevant observations alsohelps memory of minor details that might prove important. A deep understanding192 Seven brand approaches

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of a small sample of data is preferrable to the opposite. The participant researchermay collect data incognito or may identify himself as he sees fit.Understanding people in the ethnographic research tradition means under-standing them in their own environment and from the perspective of the partici-pants. In practice, this means that gaining a deep insight into the consumptionexperiences in a supermarket requires the researcher to be present – in the actualsupermarket. If the researcher is subjected to the same consumption experience asthe consumer, this sharing of the consumption experience will enable a deeper andmore real understanding from the perspective of the subject investigated. Thefocus on everyday behaviour therefore requires a presence in the natural setting ofthe research participants.The researcher needs to get close to the subjects of research. ‘Going native’ is aterm covering the ethnographic research ideal: to live in a certain environment longenough to truly understand the social and cultural phenomena from an ‘insiderperspective’. One way to solve the insider/outsider dilemma is to team up in pairs,where one researcher adopts an insider role while the other remains an outsider.The community approach 193Box 9.2 Getting too close?In a three-year ethnographic study by Schouten and McAlexander (1995) ofthe Harley Davidson subculture of consumption, the researchers started outtheir fieldwork without any specific interest in the biker lifestyle. Theirimmersion into the biker lifestyle had the consequence that they ended upbeing motorcycle owners as well as enthusiasts living the lifestyle to thefullest. Getting so fully immersed into the subcultural environment madethem ponder one of the classic dilemmas of ethnography: that of theinsider/outsider dilemma. Involvement in the social interaction in question –‘going native’– is a prerequisite for understanding the social processes takingplace, but over-involvement brings the researcher too close to the phenomenaof study to observe and transmit the facts of the research accurately.Source Schouten and McAlexander (1995)Box 9.3 Solving the insider/outsider dilemmaResearchers Muñiz and Schau solved this dilemma quite easily whenresearching the Apple Newton brand community. One researcher bought aNewton and used it for writing the research article. He became the insiderparticipant, dependent on the Newton brand community for support in theuse of the abandoned (by the marketer) handheld assistant. The otherresearcher took the outside position, ensuring objectivity in the study.Source Muñiz and Schau (2005)

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In the ethnographic tradition, it is more appropriate to talk about a research draftthan a research design. The researcher must to go with the flow of the researchprocess. During the exploration of the brand community unexpected observationsor information that was not thought to be relevant before colleting data may guidethe researcher’s attention in new directions. This unstructured collection of data isoften characterized by a combination of formal and informal methods. Anexample could be an interview in a private home, the interview being the formalmethod. During the course of the interview it becomes clear that the respondentbecomes uncomfortable when the interview touches upon certain subjects.Observations of blushing cheeks and a shifty glance might also count as data ifthey serve the aim of the research (even though these observations are informaland not planned ahead).Even though the ethnographic research tradition hails qualitative data it does notreject the use of quantitative data. Qualitative data may be triangulated with quanti-tative measures if it furthers the deeper understanding of the object of research.Ethnography allows for creative interpretations. The deep analysis of the sampleof data should manifest itself in rich, insightful (‘thick’) description uncovering asmany details as possible in order to provide understanding of as many layers ofmeaning as possible.194 Seven brand approachesBox 9.4 Quantitative triangulation of qualitative dataAlgesheimer et al. (2005) conducted ethnographic research in ‘The socialinfluence of brand community: evidence from European car clubs’,attempting to ‘develop and estimate a conceptual model of how differentaspects of customers’ relationships with the brand community influencetheir intentions and behaviors’ (p. 19). Algesheimer et al. identify fivecentral hypotheses in the body of academic literature. During the devel-opment of a quantitative research design for studying these hypotheses, theauthors conducted exploratory qualitative research through in-depth inter-views with car club presidents and focus groups with car club members,experts and graduate marketing students to evaluate and secure the bestpossible research design. The survey was developed, 282 car clubs werecontacted and a potential of 2,440 members were reached with the survey.The survey was made available on line and all participants were contactedvia e-mail with additional questions. Through a mathematically basedanalysis the five hypotheses were assigned different weights, which madethe managerial implications very precise. Including quantitative methodsand broadening the range of data to include a large number of membersfrom many different car clubs ensured that it was possible to derivegenerally applicable conclusions based on the results of the inquiry.Source Algesheimer et al. (2005)

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The tradition is suited to the exploration of new themes. As an ethnographicresearcher should attempt to be open-minded in his work, unintended knowledgeand issues may occur in the process and should not be ignored.Netnography[N]etnography involves the transplantation of ethnography, one of the mostvenerable marketing research procedures, to cyberspace, the latest marketingmilieu.(Brown et al. 2003)The internet-based methodology of netnography plays an important role in severalof the community research studies. Applying the principles of ethnography tointernet-related fieldwork, it is an obvious information source to collectknowledge of the geographically dispersed brand communities. Netnographicmethods are used for gaining insight into internet-shared brand meaning oncommunity websites and can also be used in combination with a more traditionalethnographic research design. Community members can be contacted andrecruited for interviews and/or observation, or e-mail questionnaires can be circu-lated with the help of the community.The community approach 195Box 9.5 How to do an ethnographic study of a brand communityyourself• Pair up and let one be an inside observer while the other remainsoutside the community. This will enable you to gain insight into thedeeper structures of the brand community while still being able toanalyse the information properly.• Start with an exploratory phase uncovering all expressions of community.Be creative; everything counts as data (photos, video, etc.).• Observe – go to the everyday environment of the consumer; watch,listen and learn. Let respondents take the lead, do not interfere andensure a lot of data. Join a community, go to community face-to-facemeetings, sign up as an online user, join discussion forums.• Be objective, try not to assume anything and put all prejudices aside.• Be loving – respect your respondents, they are opening their hearts toyou! Do not mistreat the information. Start slowly and build confidence.• Make sure that your presence does not make the respondents changetheir routine – you need an accurate picture of the true nature of thebrand community.• Start out by being very open and ask questions in an unstructuredfashion. Go with the flow and encourage respondents to elaborate andexplain statements further.

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SummaryThe community approach represents a social brand perspective and thecommunity concept is a key concept in sociology. Acquiring new knowledge inthis perspective requires methods facilitating the understanding of socio-culturalinteraction and meaning creation. Hence, the methods used to explore brandcommunities are rooted in the ethnographic tradition departing in a socio-culturalperspective on man. Getting close to subjects of interest by participating in theirnatural environment is key in the brand community approach. The data collectionis versatile as all kinds of data shedding light on the phenomena count. Rich anddeep analysis with a variety of different expressions in a small sample is preferableto a big sample with little variation. Getting close to the virtual brand communitiesrequires the adaptation of netnography – the ethnographic principles applied toweb-based research.• Base the more in-depth investigation on the data from the exploratoryphase. What seems strange or interesting can in that way be elaborated.• Rich description and analysis with a variety of media is to be preferred.Consider both verbal and non-verbal sources of data and ways ofdescribing the community and the brand meaning and experiences,traditions and rituals shared in the brand community.196 Seven brand approachesTheoryMethods and dataAssumptionsManagerial implicationsFigure 9.7 Methods and data of the community approach

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Managerial implicationsa brand with a powerful sense of community would generally have greater valueto a marketer than a brand with a weak sense of community. However, it shouldalso be recognized that a strong brand community can be a threat to a marketershould a community collectively reject marketing efforts or product change, andthen use communal communications channels to disseminate this rejection.(Muñiz and O’Guinn 2001, p. 427)Community consumers can be a source of immense brand loyalty: they tend to serveas brand missionaries, they are forgiving, extremely loyal and less apt to switch brandthan others. Brand community members provide important feedback to the corpo-ration about the brand; even ‘grass-roots R&D’ can be one of the benefits of havingengaged consumers in a brand community. The emotional bond between the brandand community members makes consumers eager to contribute to the success of thebrand. Brand loyalty (to a product brand) tends to ‘spill over’(to the corporate brand).In the case of cars, many sponsored brand communities represent the corporate brand(such as Volkswagen or Ford clubs) while the majority of consumers seem to identifywith their particular car model, e.g. a Volkswagen Passat or a Ford Bronco. Themembership of the corporate-level brand community seems to activate a sense ofbelonging to the corporate brand, building grounds for future repeat purchases.However, there are also downsides to an active brand community. Besides thecollective rejection mentioned in the quotation above, rumour control incomputer-mediated environments is another potentially serious problem.Consumers may also ‘hijack’ the brand and collectively take the brand in otherdirections than the marketer had in mind (as in the case of the Apple Newton).There are basically two ways of managing a brand community: one is as anobserver, the other is as a facilitator. In the latter sections we have introduced howthe assumption of a social brand is reflected in the theoretical constructs and howthese constructs imply the use of ethnographic research methods for the gatheringof information about brand communities. Now the managerial implications ofthese three layers are provided along with managerial guidelines on how to act asa marketer when observing or facilitating a brand community.Observing brand communitiesCommunity members are diehard fans. They choose to spend leisure time on abrand, cultivating profound brand meaning. A marketer can gain a deep insightinto these layers of meaning simply by observing the community. This insight canbe valuable in the marketing of the brand to more mainstream consumers.Observations can take place in the face-to-face venues as well as in the virtualcommunities. A brand manager may enrol in clubs, join rallies or subscribe to usergroups, to name a few possibilities. The social interaction in the brand communityshould be observed applying the appropriate ethnographic (and ‘nethnographic’)data collection techniques in order to deduct brand meaning.The community approach 197

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Brand mystique can be uncovered and used as a source of inspiration formarketing campaigns aimed at the mainstream users of the brand. Brand meaningattached to existing products can be applied to the marketing of new products.User experiences and ‘grass-roots R&D’are shared in brand communities and canbe applied to the intended marketing of the brand.Box 9.6 Insights from the Volkswagen ‘Beetle’ communityIn 1998 Volkswagen re-launched the legendary ‘Beetle’. The originalBeetle was launched in 1934. The idea was to produce a car for the people,which at the time was a revolutionary concept. Hugely popular over manygenerations, the inexpensive VW Beetle surpassed all production records,with more than 20 million cars leaving the VW assembly lines.In a marketing study on ‘retro-branding’, researchers Brown et al. divedinto the brand meaning shared on Beetle-related community websites. Bymeans of a netnographic method, they gained insight into the negotiationand exchange of brand meaning among community members. Adopting aholistic perspective on the community-based brand–consumer exchange,valuable information regarding the delicate matter of re-launching a cultbrand was retrieved. Examples are: Beetle fans seem divided on the issue ofthe technology of the new car. They tend to celebrate an innocent approachto the ‘hippie’ era of the 1960s and 1970s, with which the Beetle is verymuch associated. The Beetle is closely linked with family heritage andchildhood memories in many cases. Memorable advertising campaignsfrom the 1960s are still fondly associated with the Beetle.Sources www.volkswagen.com; Brown et al. (2003)198 Seven brand approachesNew marketingideasBrand meaningInnovative ideasFigure 9.8 The marketer as observer of a brand community

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However, any marketer acting as an observer in a brand community shouldtread extremely cautiously. Community consumers do not like intentionalmarketing and they do not like anyone looking over their shoulder. Communitymembers prefer to feel autonomous and in charge of the brand, and would mostlikely resent being spied on. Another potential danger is the dilution of brandmystique, which ultimately can lead to the brand losing its appeal.The marketer should be aware that a competitor can just as easily ‘snoop’ intoshared brand meaning and hence attempt to steal potential unreleased brandmeaning. Therefore, it is essential to be well informed and up-to-date about whathappens in both formal and informal brand communities.A brand community is an important information source, as consumers shareuser experiences and brand meaning. Any marketer should pay attention to thisvaluable source of information in order to obtain true consumer intimacy. But beaware that the information source is equally accessible to competing marketers.Facilitating brand communitiesThe marketer facilitating a brand community should be just as cautious as theobserving marketer. A brand community is a powerful force and, in order for acommunity to thrive, the facilitating marketer is advised to adopt a ‘behind thescenes’ approach.An internet-based user group, a face-to-face club or a well orchestratedbrandfest can proactively facilitate valuable consumer interaction. Facilitating abrand community can be a great retention tool, but caution and very discreetmarketer presence is essential. It is important to note that it is, in fact, the socialinteraction around the consumption of the brand that spurs brand loyalty andcontributes to the building of brand meaning. A marketer must hence engagemembers, not only with the brand, but also with each other. A photo or designcontest is not enough, no matter the number of participants. In order for acommunity to exist, the marketer should for example engage the consumers asinteractive judges in the photo contest. There are countless examples of brandssetting up websites or other kinds of interaction platforms, where it is not inter-action between consumers but interaction between the marketer and manyconsumers that is mistakenly labelled a community. The interaction betweenconsumers is what makes the brand community unique and beneficial for brands.This interaction between consumers must not be confused with dialogue merelybetween the marketer and consumer, even though there might be a dialogue withmany consumers.Building a brand community the size of a club/community must beconsidered, depending on what the aim is with brand community. Research indi-cates that smaller clubs engender higher levels of member identification.Enthusiasm and involvement of community members tend to be greater in smallcommunities outside the active control of a corporation and this involvementand identification is key for enhancing brand loyalty. The dilemma is, however,that the marketer seems to have a greater opportunity for influencing membersThe community approach 199

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in larger communities. Interpersonal relations dominate in the smaller clubswhile the direct influence of the marketer on key member behaviour is greater inthe larger communities.The community approach is more suitable for the retention than the acquisitionof members. Findings prove that the active engagement of consumers in a brandcommunity is more efficient when targeting consumers who already have an affir-mative relationship with the brand instead of newcomers to the brand.No selling should be attempted in the community setting. If the marketermanages to facilitate a successful brand community, the increased brand loyaltywill pay off when the consumers are ready. Trying to push a sale in a communitycontext would turn off members’ community spirit and could ultimately makethem leave the community and the brand.This overriding dilemma in the community approach is reflected in all aspects ofthe managerial implications. On the one hand, community members are so enthusi-astic about a specific brand that it plays a role in their social life; on the other hand,they do not like intentional marketing. Community members prefer to feel on theirown and in charge of brand meaning and the interaction in the community.200 Seven brand approachesBox 9.7 Do’s and don’ts in the community approachDo Don’tAcknowledge the power of the Don’t ignore community memberconsumer in the creation of brand feedback and prevent collectivemeaning and equity rejection of marketing activitiesUse the feedback from community Don’t involve your customers toomembers for grass-roots innovation much, as it can result in resentmentPurposely select, initiate, manage Don’t be too present as a marketerand control the interactions among – adopt a ‘behind the scenes’consumers presenceBuild brand communities that Be aware that competitors canenhance shared customer ‘snoop’ easily through theexperiences communityUse brand communities mainly Don’t use communities to recruitas a retention tool new consumersUse brand communities to tap Don’t attempt selling within theinto brand meaning context of the communityUse community ethos to develop Don’t overuse the unique ethos ofand vitalize the brand the community and thereby dilutebrand mystique

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Can all brands attract communities?Brand communities tend to evolve around brands with a long and interestinghistory, high-involvement products, brands threatened by competition, expensivebrands or brands with considerable maintenance costs. There is also the ‘nerd’factor; very technical and complicated products also have the potential forattracting communities.Cars and motor cycle brands often attract communities. Especially iconicbrands, representing a certain lifestyle (Harley-Davidson, Chrysler Jeeps) havethe potential for very strong communities and these brands can use the commu-nities as an important part of brand ethos. Computers and gadgets also seem toattract communities. ‘Helping each other out’ is a big part of communitybuilding and is a very good reason for joining both a car/motorcycle as well as acomputer brand community. The threatening competition factor is important forthe many Apple Macintosh enthusiasts. Here, the brand community has analmost idealistic tone as its identity is in many ways defined in opposition toMicrosoft. The ‘nerd’ factor is evident in the case of some of the communitybrands, as for example Linux.Cultural brands6also attract communities. Movies like Star Wars and populartelevision shows also have brand community appeal. It is, however, important notto delimit oneself from the benefits of a vibrant brand community if your branddoes not match these characteristics. More and more fast-moving consumer goods(FMCGs) have proved to be very successful in engaging their consumers invibrant brand communities.Community websiteBrandfestCo-created brand meaningFigure 9.9 The marketer as facilitator of a brand communityThe community approach 201

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Brand communities can successfully be facilitated around low-involvementproducts. In the case of these not-so-obvious brands, a community should bebased on a deep understanding of the consumption context rather than the branditself (the consumption context meaning the psychological and social concerns ofyoung girls in the Libresse case). Active selling like in other communities, shouldnot be attempted here, but providing a platform for social interaction may workwell both as a retention tool and also as a way for new users of the product tobecome familiar with and trust that specific brand. The brand communityplatform helps the consumer discuss and solve some of the more emotional issueslinked with the consumption of the product, which works as very good trustcreating mechanism.SummaryMarketers can benefit from a brand community in many ways. The marketer canreap benefits either by observing brand communities and extracting brandmeaning or by facilitating consumer interaction through a brand community. Bothroads to obtaining the benefits of a brand community require the discretion of themarketer who should adopt a ‘behind the scenes’ presence. Neither selling nor therecruitment of new consumers should be attempted. Managerial discretion is keyin the community approach. The focus should be on facilitating the sharing ofconsumption experiences between consumers. High-involvement brands with aBox 9.8 Libresse: the community principles applied to fast-movingconsumer goodsA line of feminine hygiene products is marketed by Swedish paper productgiant SCA. The products are marketed as Libresse (globally), BodyForm(UK), Nana (France), Nuvenia (Italy), Libra (Australia), Nosotras (Spain)and Saba (Mexico and Central America). SCA has successfully managed toapply the principles of the community approach to an FMCG in an inno-vative marketing effort customized for the youngest of their target audience.These web sites resemble youth magazines and are devoted more toemotional subjects and the bodily changes of young teenage girls ratherthan to the marketed products. They offer space for interaction about healthand beauty issues, boyfriends, sexuality and puberty, to name a few. Adviceabout love, bodily issues and self-esteem is given, chat rooms are open andhoroscopes are provided. Great insight into the psychology of the targetaudience has facilitated an innovative platform for brand loyalty. TheAustralian website is one of the most innovative ones, encouraging the userto be a ‘Libra girl’, get a ‘Libra nickname’ and thereby access to anotherwise restricted area of chat rooms, e-diaries and horoscopes.Sources www.libresse.com; www.libragirl.com.au202 Seven brand approaches

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long history or technically complicated brands are the more obvious ones to attracta brand community, but the facilitation of a brand community is also possible foran FMCG brand.TheoryManagerialimplicationsAssumptionsMethods and dataFigure 9.10 Managerial implications of the community approachThe community approach 203Comments from the ‘founding fathers’(5)Brands and communitiesAlbert M. Muniz, Jr, De Paul University, and Thomas C. O’Guinn,University of Wisconsin School of BusinessLike many successful collaborations, this one began over food and drink. Wehad both been talking for some time about the lack of sociological thought inmainstream consumer behaviour. We had both used brands in debates anddiscussions with our psychologist friends. Brands seemed such as an obviousproduct of social forces and constructs. If brands could have personalities(actually, we don’t think they do), could they not be the centre of a mean-ingful social aggregation, a community? Meaning, objects, and meaningfulobjects are often at the centre of communities. Brands were the perfectextension of contemporary social thought. So went our academic argument.So over food and wine more than a decade ago we coined the term ‘brandcommunity’.In truth, we were also both drawn to this topic by our own personal brandcommunity experiences. We both had (somewhat) vintage Saabs in the

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early 1990s. While driving these cars, we were frequently stopped bycomplete strangers who wanted to talk to us about our Saabs, the brand’shistory, where we had them serviced, and our advice on very Saab-centricproblems. We quickly came to realize that these weren’t complete strangersstopping us; they were fellow members in a community of Saab enthu-siasts. When we looked at the behaviours of these self-proclaimed Saab-ists, we realized that they were a lot like the Apple Macintosh enthusiaststhat we had encountered at various points of our lives. We also realized thatthe fields of branding and consumer behaviour, as they existed then, couldnot adequately explain this phenomenon. The social aspects ofconsumption, particularly with regard to the consumption of brands, werealmost completely unexplored. Thus a research calling was revealed.Brand research had been bound up in what was a sometimes useful, butvery limited, idea of brands as summations of attitudes. To be clear: it wasan unarguably impoverished view of brands. It was worse than incomplete.It did not and could not properly capture the social nature of brands.Brands are about meaning: meaning clearly left open by summations ofattitude. Further, brand meaning derives from society, its forces, agents,and institutions, among them marketers and consumers. It is an essentiallycommunal process.What we saw among users of brands reminded us of what we saw incohesive neighbourhoods: a sense of community. We began to think thatcommunity might be a useful way to think about the relationships betweenusers or admirers of brands. As we thought about it more, and collectedmore data, and read more of the classical sociological literature oncommunity, we became convinced that we were on to something. Humanbeings living in consumer cultures aggregate around brands in a mannersimilar to those occurring in traditional face-to-face communities. It was anovel idea that made perfect sense.Obvious cases came first. In our earliest work we studied mostly small-share brands. We initially gave some the impression that brand communitiesoccurred only with a small fraction of consumers and represented marginalpopulations. More than a decade later we are delighted to observe that thebrand community construct and its application have proven to be quitemainstream in both theory and application. Social network marketing, oftenthrough brand communities, is now commonplace. Large-share multina-tional brands (as well as start-ups) now use the construct, the essentialdynamics we revealed (e.g. desired marginality, communal legitimacy,oppositional brand loyalty, the communication structures of communities,essential communal metaphors, communal co-creation, community-generated content, narratives and language). We are honoured through ourmodest connection to canonic social thought.204 Seven brand approaches

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Student questions1 Under which circumstances does a relationship between a marketer andmultiple consumers exist?2 Under which circumstances would a brand community exist in the same case?3 Name some of the appealing qualities of the Apple Newton brand in a brandcommunity context.4 How can the Apple Newton brand community affect the Apple brand?5 What does it take for a brand community to turn into a subculture ofconsumption?6 Which brand perspective does the ethnographic tradition add to brandmanagement?7 Which research design would you create for tapping into the shared brandmeaning of an Internet-based community?8 Which research design would you apply to the study of a car club?9 How does the Libresse marketer manage to create a brand community aroundan FMCG?References and further readingKey readings are in bold type.Algesheimer, R., Dholakia, U. M. and Herrmann, A. (2005) ‘The social influence of brandcommunity: evidence from European car clubs’, Journal of Marketing, 69 (July): 19–34Brown, S., Kozinets, R. V. and Sherry, J. F., Jr (2003) ‘Teaching old brands new tricks: retrobranding and the revival of brand meaning’, Journal of Marketing, 67 (July): 19–33Hackley, C. (2003) Doing Research Projects in Marketing, Management and ConsumerResearch, London: RoutledgeHammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (1994) Ethnography: Principles in Practice, 2nd edn,London: RoutledgeKozinets, R. V. (1997) ‘“I want to believe”: a netnography of the X-philes’ subcultures ofconsumption’, Advances in Consumer Research, 24: 470–5Kozinets, R. V. (2002) ‘The field behind the screen: using netnography for marketingresearch in online communities’, Journal of Marketing Research, 39 (February): 61–72McAlexander, J. H. and Schouten, J. W. (1998) ‘Brandfests: servicescapes for the cultivationof brand equity’, in J. Sherry, Jr (ed.), ServiceScapes, Chicago: NTC Business BooksMcAlexander, J. H., Schouten, J. W. and Koenig, H. F. (2002) ‘Building brand community’,Journal of Marketing, 66 (January): 38–55Mariampolski, H. (2006) Ethnography for Marketers: a Guide to Consumer Immersion,Thousand Oaks CA: Sage PublicationsMuñiz, A. M., Jr, and O’Guinn, T. C. (1995) ‘Brand Community and the Sociology ofBrands’, paper presented to the 1995 Association for Consumer Research annualconference. Minneapolis MNMuñiz, A. M. Jr, and O’Guinn, T. C. (2001) ‘Brand community’, Journal of ConsumerResearch, 27 (March): 412–31O’Guinn, T. C. and Muñiz, A. M., Jr. (2005) ‘Communal consumption and the brand’, in S.Ratneshwar and D. G. Mick (eds) Inside Consumption: Consumer Motives, Goals, andDesires, London: RoutledgeThe community approach 205

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10 The cultural approachwith a commentary by L’Oréal Professor of Marketing, Douglas B. Holt, SaïdBusiness School, Oxford UniversityLearning objectivesThe purpose of this chapter is to:Understand the assumptions of the cultural approach• The brand is perceived as a cultural artefact and a cultural brandperspective is hence introduced in brand managementUnderstand the main theoretical building blocks and how they areconnected• The theory of cultural branding – a study into how brands become icons• The No Logo movement and its resistance to branding• The citizen-artist brand prospect – a viable brand scenario for the futureof cultural brandingProvide insights into the variety of methods used to research culturalconsumption• In order to understand cultural consumption, macro-level analysis isapplied to micro-level dataUnderstand the managerial implications• The management of an iconic brand requires the ability to think and actlike a cultural activist• The management of all brands requires consideration of corporatesocial responsibility

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The last approach of this book is called the cultural approach because it is basedon analysis of brands and branding in the light of cultural influences. Theapproach emphasizes the cultural forces in society and how these can be used tobuild iconic brands as well as the impact of branding practices on the globalizedculture and marketplace.Starbucks is often referred to as a cultural icon or a brand icon. In 1971,Starbucks was founded as one single coffee shop in Seattle; by the end of 2006the American corporation owned around 12,440 coffee shops and stores aroundthe world. Starbucks initiated what subsequently has been referred to as the‘Starbucks Revolution’ as an expression of how much Starbucks has changedthe way coffee is consumed all around the world. The financial success issubstantial and Starbucks is one of the global ‘brand icons’ serving as acommon frame of reference. All in all, Starbucks is a tremendous marketingsuccess.Starbucks is, however, also subjected to criticism for acting as a cultural impe-rialist and for not taking interest and paying enough attention to fair trade, etc. Itssuccess hence goes hand in hand with being one of the brands that is most fiercelycriticized by the anti-brand movement: ‘Starbucks has become a cultural icon forall the rapacious excesses, predatory intentions, and cultural homogenizationsthat social critics attribute to globalizing corporate capitalism’ (Thompson andArsel 2004, p. 631).This dualism – the tremendous success of the Starbucks brand and the concernsit spurs – is characteristic of the cultural approach. The literature of the approachfocuses, on the one hand, on the building of iconic brands, and on the other, theconcerns of the anti-brand movement. Increasingly, the most successful brandsattract counter-cultural forces.Seemingly contradictory, the common ground in the approach is the culturalbrand perspective, in which the brand is regarded as an important part of andcontributor to mainstream culture. Both parties (the literature concerned with thebuilding of iconic brands and the anti-branding movement) are mostly concernedwith the brands representing corporate America. These hugely successful brandsare the ones that are pointed out as examples of best practice; meanwhile thesebrands are also the ones that attract the majority of critical voices from sociallyand culturally concerned citizen movements.The cluster of literature dealing with this dual cultural perspective on brandmanagement emerged around the millennium. A key reading is ‘Why do brandscause trouble? A dialectical theory of consumer culture and branding’ by Holt(published in Journal of Consumer Research in 2002). This article relates to bothsides of the cultural brand perspective, and even proposes a future brand scenariobased on the tensions in the cultural approach. The opposing viewpoints and theglimpse towards the future will be reviewed as theoretical building blocks of thecultural approach. Prior to that, the assumptions of the approach will be reviewedand the chapter will be rounded off with an insight into the methods and mana-gerial implications of the approach.208 Seven brand approaches

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Assumptions of the cultural approachThe individual brand perspectives introduced in the 1990s (the consumer-basedapproach, the personality approach and the relational approach) had differenttakes on understanding the exchange between a marketer and a consumer. Theconsumer-based approach turned the spotlight on the consumer, while thepersonality approach and the relational approach further constituted brand valueas something co-created in a dialogue between marketer and consumer (the‘dyadic’ brand relationship). The community approach added meaning found inthe social interaction among dedicated brand consumers (the ‘triadic’ brand rela-tionship) to the main theories of brand value creation. Inspired by culturalstudies, the cultural brand perspective adds the exchange between macro-levelculture and brands to the picture. The literature deals with the way marketers canuse cultural forces to build strong brands (ultimately brand icons) and whatbrands and branding do to culture.It is consumer culture rather than the individual consumer that is researched inthe cultural approach. One could argue that the pivotal point is still the brandmeaning found in groups of consumers just as in the community approach, but thefocus of analysis is completely different:In contrast [to research in communities], this article focuses on brand cocre-ation in a context where brands are not the central focus; thus, it is necessaryto unpack the meanings and sociocultural processes that continually prob-lematize and ensure a brand’s legitimacy to its various consumer groupings.(Kates 2004, p. 455)The cultural approach 209Box 10.1 Macro-level culture definedThe identity approach (chapter 5) is also concerned with cultural aspects ofbranding. In the identity approach, culture is defined as culture at a micro-level – specifically organizational culture. The cultural approach focuses onculture in a macro perspective, applying findings from the culturesurrounding us all to branding practices.In this approach, macro-level culture is defined as the social definition ofculture. In this definition, culture is closely intertwined with meaning andcommunication. In specific cultures, specific meanings and values areshared (as collective representations) and it is through this common groundof understanding that a culture can be said to exist. Cultural studiesdeparting from this definition of culture hence attempt to clarify the explicitand implicit meanings of the culture in question, as well as understandinghow meaning is produced and circulated.Source du Gay et al. (1997)

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The ‘brand–consumer exchange’In the cultural approach, the brand is analysed as a ‘cultural artifact movingthrough history’ (Holt 2004, p. 215) and is as such comparable to e.g. aHollywood movie, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel or a music festival concert. Thebrand is a storyteller, endowed with cultural meaning and an important factor inthe intricate web of cultural meanings used in the collective identity projects ofconsumers. In that sense, the brand is a vessel of meaning and myth making,successful only if it resonates with consumers’ collective identity projects of thetime. Understanding the brand–consumer exchange in the relational approachalso requires an understanding of the identity projects of consumers. It is,however, important to note that the understanding and focus of consumers’identity projects is different in the two approaches. In the cultural approachconsumers’ identity projects are analysed at a (macro) collective level. The rela-tional approach is concerned with the understanding of individual identityprojects as important contributors to brand meaning.In the macro-level focus of culture the brand is also a significant political andfinancial power and is at the centre of debate when it comes to issues anddiscussion surrounding globalization issues:With the growing impact of market institutions on almost all aspects of ourlives, it does not take much imagination to see ‘brands’ and ‘branding’ aspart of an increasingly dominant market economic and commercialideoscape, carried by organizations such as WTO, by marketing andmanagement practices and by the contemporary sovereign status of theliberal market economy. As [part of] such an ideoscape, branding isbecoming central to the structuring of commercial and economic activititesin still larger parts of the world.(Askegaard 2006, p. 92)one may argue that brands are among the most significant ideoscapes in theglobalization processes.(Askegaard 2006, p. 94)CultureWhat can culture do to brand value creation?How does branding affect culture?BrandingFigure 10.1 Scope of the cultural approach210 Seven brand approaches

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The cultural brand perspective assumes a consumer who is very much embeddedin the symbolic universes of branding:Branding also causes a new consumer to form, a consumer who is brandconscious in the largest sense: a consumer for whom these new symbolicuniverses gradually become some of the most central parts of his or heridentity formation, both individually and in groups.(Askegaard 2006, p. 100)The consumer of the cultural approach is a ‘no man is an island’man. Embedded inand influenced by the surrounding culture, the cultural brand perspective assumesthat it is the collective brand meaning creation that is important and relevant to theconsumer: Homo mercans or market man (Askegaard 2006) is deeply embedded –or trapped, depending on the point of view – in consumer culture:Market man is forged out of the interplay between different technologies: tech-nologies of production, which allow us to transform and manipulate things; ofsign systems, which allow us to use meanings, symbols or significations; ofpower, which directs the conduct of individuals; and of the self, which allowsus to affect our way of being so as to reach a certain state of being.(Garsten and Hasselström 2004, p. 213)The role of the marketer implies bird perspective. Brand value is created throughplaying an active role in mainstream culture. The brand is subjected to social andcultural changes and thereby influenced by changes completely outside the brandmanager’s control. On the one hand, this means that the marketer is not the onlyauthor behind the brand meanings. On the other, a brand manager who manages tounderstand the most relevant cultural currents is able to write the proper ‘manu-script’ for the brand to benefit from pressing cultural issues of the time. In thatsense, the brand gains competitive power by providing the consumer with theappropriate web of associations and the most powerful myths of its time.The cultural perspectiveThe perspective of the cultural approach embeds brand consumption in amacro-level cultural context and it is linked to the tradition of cultural studies.The culture researched into in the cultural approach surrounds us all and canroughly be divided into different ‘levels’; a subcultural level, a national level,and a global level. They are all valid analysis levels and concerns of the culturalbrand perspective.Viewing consumption through the cultural lens means that all aspects ofconsumption experiences are analysed in their respective cultural context. Theapproach ‘borrows’ methods from different scientific traditions, such as phenom-enological interviews, ethnographic field studies and netnography. The macrolevel of analysis, however, makes the interpretation of the data different fromThe cultural approach 211

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other approaches. The following quote illustrates well how data derived fromphenomenological interviews are interpreted in the cultural approach:Our aim was to identify the most recurrent and robust patterns of underlyingcultural meanings that engendered these identified commonalities. Thishermeneutic mode of interpretation is premised on the idea that a givenconsumer is not expressing a strictly subjective viewpoint. Instead, he or sheis articulating a culturally shared system of meanings and beliefs, person-alized to fit his or her specific life goals and circumstances.(Thompson et al. 2006, p. 55)This is a typical example of how the researchers of the cultural approach usemethodologies from different scientific traditions for data collection (in thiscase the phenomenological/existentialist tradition behind the relationalapproach) and ‘elevate’ their findings to a cultural level through a macro-levelanalysis. This will be explained in more detail in the methods and data section ofthis chapter.The cultural brand perspective focuses on branding and culture, and it ischaracterized by having many layers and opposing views compared to the othersix brand approaches in this book. Not only managerial, but also ethical,political and philosophical discussions rage in the cultural approach alongsideresearch into what extent consumers can or cannot liberate themselves fromconsumer culture.SummaryThis ‘cluster’ of brand literature introduces the cultural brand perspective wherethe brand acts as a cultural artefact, broadening the focus of analysis from an indi-vidual consumer level to a macro level about the role brands play in consumerculture. The approach focuses on what brands do to culture and what culture cando to brands. Core to the cultural approach are brand icons and the counterculturalanti-branding movements. Iconic brands are the ones that have managed to inte-grate themselves in culture more skilfully than others. At the same time, brandicons are also subjected to the greatest concerns (regarding cultural imperialism,cultural standardization and globalization). Core to the cultural approach is theidea of the marketer deliberately endowing the brand with cultural meaning andthrough that playing an active role in consumer culture. The brand is seen as astoried product putting shared myths relating to cultural identity projects up forconsumption. The cultural approach reveals the mechanisms behind brandsbecoming icons. At the same time, the approach also relates to a consumer cultureincreasingly concerned with the branded products, pressuring for changes in theway brands behave. The consumer of this approach is a homo mercans, a marketman woven into the intricate meaning found in cultural consumer objects. Howthese assumptions rub off on to theories, methods and managerial implicationswill be depicted in the following sections.212 Seven brand approaches

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Theoretical building blocks of the cultural approachThe cultural approach is very different from the other approaches, which implies adifferent structure of the theoretical building blocks section. In the otherapproaches, a core theme is presented alongside its supporting themes. The coretheme is the main theory behind the approach and the supporting themes arenotions facilitating the deeper understanding of the core theory.The dualism and the tensions of the cultural approach are, however, reflected inthe way this section is constructed. The theoretical building blocks hence consistof one supporting theme – cultural consumption – and one core theme, namelybrand icons. The societal reaction to the core theme, the No Logo movement, isthen reviewed followed by a viable theory (the citizen-artist brand) of how brandmanagement can deal with the counter-reaction.The theory on cultural branding by Douglas B. Holt (How Brands BecomeIcons) is a cornerstone in the cultural approach and serves as the core theme.Different from the majority of the publications with a cultural perspective, thistheory is focused on the management of brands. The cultural branding model isclosely related to the theory on cultural consumption formulated by GrantMcCracken. Understanding the basic way of thinking about consumption in acultural context facilitates the further reading of the theory on how brands becomeicons, which is why it serves as the supporting theme.The review of these two elements could immediately seem like sufficientmaterial to gain an understanding of brand management in cultural approach.However, in order to understand the full scope of the cultural approach, one needsto understand the other side of the ideological spectrum as well. No Logo byAssumptionsTheoryMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 10.2 Assumptions of the cultural approachThe cultural approach 213

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Naomi Klein is the most well known publication representing many of theconcerns of the anti-brand movement. The anti-branding agenda is also importantin the cultural approach because these mechanisms are vital to know about whenaiming at iconic brand status (but also relevant for other types of brands). This iswhy the No Logo movement is reviewed briefly here, even though it is not asupporting theme, but rather a societal comment on brand icons.The managerially oriented theory on how brands become icons is faced with thesocietal response from the No Logo movement. The tensions between the iconicbrands and the anti-brand, anti-globalization movement seems contradictory at afirst glance. In an analysis of these tensions, Douglas B. Holt (2002) illustrates thatthese opposing views might be logically connected after all and comes up with anew cultural brand construct; the citizen-artist brand. The citizen-artist brand is aviable prospect born from these cultural tensions and hence serves as a managerialguideline for how to respond to the anti-branding movement. As an interestingnew theory and explanation of the tensions of the approach, this chapter wouldsuffer from it not being mentioned, even though it does not fit the mould of asupporting/core theme presentation of key elements.Supporting theme: cultural consumptionCanadian anthropologist Grant McCracken conceptualized a cultural perspectiveon consumption in the 1980s. His theories have since become central to the under-standing of consumption in a cultural context. If one considers the culture defi-nition behind this approach, it is obvious that McCracken’s theory is a prerequisiteA societal comment:The No LogomovementA future brand scenario:The citizen-artist brandSupporting theme:Cultural consumptionCore theme:Cultural branding:“How brandsbecome icons”Figure 10.3 The core theme, its supporting theme (cultural consumption), the societalcomment on brand icons (the No Logo movement) and the future brand scenario (thecitizen-artist brand)214 Seven brand approaches

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for understanding the production and circulation of cultural meaning throughconsumption goods. It is important to notice that cultural consumption is not aboutthe consumption of cultural objects (books, music, etc.) but is applied to allconsumer goods that are regarded as equal circulators of meaning.Pivotal in the theory of cultural consumption is the notion of culture andconsumption operating as a system. This cultural consumption paradigm acknowl-edges that goods not only have a utilitarian character, they are also able to carryand communicate cultural meaning. The cultural meaning is mobile, flowing andalways in transition. Meaning is transferred from the culturally constituted worldinto consumer goods and through the consumption of goods integrated into thelives of consumers. In this fashion, cultural meaning is integrated into the lives ofconsumers through consumption.Cultural meaning from the culturally constituted world is incorporated intoconsumer goods by the advertising and fashion system. The idea is that the adver-tising system and the fashion system pick fragments of meaning and bestow themon products through advertising and the media. These fragments are found in theCulturally Constituted WorldMovement of meaningConsumer GoodsIndividual ConsumerKey Location of MeaningInstrument ofMeaning TransferAdvertising/Fashion SystemFashion SystemPossessionRitualExchangeRitualGroomingRitualDivestmentRitualFigure 10.4 The movement of meaning; from McCracken, Culture and Consumption(1988), reprinted by permission of Indiana University PressThe cultural approach 215

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everyday life that makes up the culturally constituted world. Hence, the fashionand advertising systems function as producers of meaning. Consumer goods arehence in the cultural approach circulators of meaning recognizable to the ‘encul-turated’ (being a member of a culture endows you with the ability to read the rightkind of meaning into the goods) consumer. The consumer thereby choosesmeaning adequate for his or her life by making consumption choices. If a certainconsumer good delivers a meaningful take on your specific life situation you adoptthis meaning through consumption of the good. This is how goods become carriersof cultural meaning besides possessing a utilitarian value. In the consumption ofgoods, consumers thereby also choose to consume the cultural meaning, whichseems most appropriate to suit their lives:The consumer system supplies individuals with the cultural materials torealize their various and changing ideas of what it is to be a man or a woman,middle-aged or elderly, a parent, a citizen, or a professional. All of thesecultural notions are concretized in goods, and it is through their possessionand use that the individual realizes the notions in his own life.(McCracken 1988, p. 88)This conceptualization of the transfer of cultural meaning draws heavily on semi-otics. Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols in communication. Signs andsymbols are considered able to communicate meaning different than the word,picture (or a composition of words, images and sound as in an advertisement, forexample) itself. The interpretation of the sign systems is dependent on the inter-preter and his cultural and personal background: ‘The meaning of signs is arbi-trary. In principle, anything could stand for anything else. It is the cultural contextthat frames the interpretation of signs and imbues particular signs with localizedmeanings’ (Hackley 2003, p. 162). Intertextuality is an important aspect of semi-otics; meaning that a ‘text’refers to another ‘text’which again refers to somethingelse. It is obvious that the level of cultural ‘literacy’ and general culturalknowledge (enculturation) very much determine the interpretation of the ‘text’.The marketing system is therefore the creator of a ‘string of signs’; marketingcommunications are composed of multiple layers of meaning. The production andcirculation of meaning has no beginning and no end.Core theme: how brands become iconsThe theory of cultural branding (Holt 2003, 2003b, 2004) is the core theme of thecultural approach. In an extensive empirical study of iconic brands, Holt hasconceptualized a new way of perceiving and managing brands. Cultural brandingis the strategic principles behind how to create and manage a brand and alter it intoan icon. Cultural branding is all about what culture can do for brand value creation(figure 10.1). How Brands Become Icons is a thorough inquiry into the creation ofthe inspired and talented brand communication behind the iconic brands. Thepoint of departure is the same as McCracken’s in the sense that brands and/or216 Seven brand approaches

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Reebok, Pepsi and Saab are hence considered identity brands, meaning thattheir use contributes significantly to their consumers’ self-expression. JohnWayne, J.F.K. and Bruce Springsteen are considered cultural icons serving asexemplary and powerful symbols to a majority of people. And Apple, Nike andHarley are representatives of the brand icons: the few brands approaching theidentity value of the cultural icons.Having established what a brand icon is, we now turn to the mechanisms behind theriseto iconicstatus.Theempiricalstudiesbehindthecultural brandingmodel establishthat the rise to icon status happens mainly through advertising and can be aided bycultural industries (via product placement) and populist worlds (via viral branding):Identity brands must be very good at product quality, distribution, promotion,pricing, and customer service. But these attributes are simply the ante thatmarketers must pony up to be competitive. They aren’t drivers of businesssuccess. Identity brands live or die on the quality of their communications.(Holt 2004, p. 225)What makes the communications of the iconic brands stand out are four commondenominators:• Target a cultural contradiction. The iconic brands have been able to targetcultural contradictions in society and perform a powerful myth to accommodatethe tensions: ‘Cultural branding works when the brand’s stories connect power-fully with particular contradictions in American society’(Holt 2004, p. 224).• Act as a cultural activist.Aspiring to the identity value of a cultural icon, radicalaction needs to be taken: ‘Icons act as cultural leaders, as activists encouragingpeople to think and act differently through their stories’(Holt 2003).• Create original expressive culture as an artist. Also, when it comes toaesthetics, the brand must lead the way and not just follow trends. The brandicons have managed to provide their own unique visual expression and therebyhave provided consumers with something entirely new and original.• Develop an authentic populist voice. A brand must be perceived as a crediblerepresentative of a ‘populist epicentre’ (a non-commercial place; e.g.subculture, folk culture or a social movement) which is where new non-commercial culture is being created. The brand must display a deep under-standing of the point of view it represents.218 Seven brand approachesBox 10.2 How Snapple became an iconic brandIn 1972 healthy fruit drink brand Snapple saw the light of day in Brooklyn.In 1993 Snapple’s sales had climbed to an annual $516 million and thecompany was bought by Quaker Oats for $1.7 billion. The marketingstrategy behind the huge financial success encompassed four steps:

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• Target a cultural contradiction During the 1980s the United States wasled by President Reagan and going through hard times in order tobecome a more dynamic economy. The labour market was marked byconstant restructuring and downsizing. Around 1990 the labour markethad become quite unbalanced, with companies and elites profiting wellbut also large parts of the population left with ‘McJobs’, sparking acurrent of discontent and disbelief in corporate America as well asamong elected officials. Snapple managed to address this societalimbalance – or cultural contradiction – by authoring a myth about acompany run by amateurs, indirectly suggesting that the ‘overpaid’elites in marketing departments of other companies were not needed atall. Consuming a bottle of Snapple became a way of embracing thatcultural meaning.• Act as a cultural activist Before the rest of the world became trulyaware of the powerful tensions in US society, Snapple acted as an insti-gator of the new myths regarding the company run by a bunch ofplayful amateurs, giving vent to deep societal frustration. Thereby,Snapple managed to comment on an important tension before mostpeople managed to even verbalize the problems.• Create original expressive culture as an artist Snapple’s brandingactivities (new product development, advertising, design andpromotion) were radically new in aesthetics, and yet unified in theexpression of the brand’s political voice. All these activities displayedan ironic comment on the society at the time through a credible auraof amateurism. Tennis player Ivan Lendl became a spokespersonbecause he was a fan, even though he mispronounced the brand namein the television ads. ‘Wendy the Snapple lady’became a star of manytelevision ads. Wendy was a clerk working at Snapple who had takenup the job of answering letters from consumers. Wendy, who wasquite far from the beauty standards of advertising, become verypopular as ‘the real thing’. To mock the celebrity events sponsored bycompeting companies such as Coca-cola and Pepsi, Snapple becamethe sponsor of events like cherry spitting in Minnesota and yo-yotossing in New York.• Develop an authentic populist voice Snapple hired two radio hosts asendorsers of the brand. Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern could not bemore different, coming from both ends of the political spectrum, butboth represented defiance against the establishment and expressed agenuine affection for Snapple. Their endorsement is one example ofhow Snapple gained credibility from a populist epicentre.Source Holt (2003b)The cultural approach 219

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Moving through time and cultural changes and still staying relevant is one of thegreat challenges of the iconic brands. The powerful myth has to be reinvented overand over again in congruence with the socio-political-economic-cultural changes:‘Iconic brands remain relevant when they adapt their myths to address the shiftingcontradictions that their constituents face’ (Holt 2004). The cultural brandingmodel is essentially very different from the mindshare branding model (Holt’sterm; in this book the consumer-based approach) as the mindshare model estab-lishes that consistency in brand communication is what builds a strong brand. Theaim of this book is the side-by-side presentation of the seven ‘ideal types’, not todiscuss if one approach is superior to another. Emphasizing the differencesbetween the mindshare model (the consumer-based approach) and the culturalmodel (this approach), however, facilitates the understanding of both approaches,which is why their most fundamental differences are depicted in table 10.1.After having established the nature of consumption in a cultural perspective andhow cultural meaning can be activated in such a powerful way that brands becomeicons, we will now turn to the societal, critical comment on the cultural impact ofthe global iconic brands.The societal response to brand icons: the No Logo movementIn the No Logo movement branding efforts are critically analysed and linked withenvironmental issues, human rights and cultural degradation. The book is also amoral rebellion against the idea of corporations outsourcing production while220 Seven brand approachesTable 10.1 A comparison between the mindshare branding model and the culturalbranding model.The mindshare branding model The cultural branding modelBrand communication Persuasion The purpose of Myth making Communicationadvertising is to influence is the centre of consumerconsumer perception of the value. The brand is a ‘storied’brand through rhetoric product and the product ismerely a means to embracingthe storyBrand components Abstract associations Cultural expressions TheThe brand consists of a set of brand’s value is found in theassociations that is the brand’s cultural contents of thepurified essence (brand DNA) brand’s myth. The brand has areputation for performingcertain mythsBrand management Consistency Brand Historical fit – brandmanagement is about management is aboutupholding consistency in adapting the brand’s myth tocommunications over time cultural changes in order toremain relevantSource Adapted from Holt (2004)

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focusing on the production of images. In that sense, No Logo is a serious attack onthe idea of branding in itself and seriously questions whether the iconic brands areselling something of real value or only empty images and promises.Kalle Lasn is another significant voice in the anti-brand movement. Founder ofAdbusters and advocating the ‘uncooling’, ‘unswooshing’ and ‘demarketing’ ofAmerica, Lasn’s overall concern (1999) is that culture is not ‘bottom-up’any more(significant cultural issues stemming from the people), but rather ‘top down’,reversed by big companies and global brand corporations. Thereby, culture is nolonger created by the people, but by corporateAmerica. Brands, products, fashions,celebrities, entertainments have moved from being spectacles surrounding cultureto become the main constituents of culture. Human desires are manipulated throughadvertising; thereby an authentic life is no longer possible.The activist agenda of Adbusters encourages ‘the people’ to fight ‘the coolmachine’. This can be done through ‘culture jamming’ (the distortion ofcommercial signs and mediums), by joining ‘buy nothing days’ and sticking to‘TV turnoff weeks’. Through these actions people can change the way culturalmeaning is created in society.Activist anti-brand movements also monitor corporations closely and therebypressure for corporate social responsibility (so-called corporate watch). Thispressure for more corporate social responsibility has created increasing attentionin management circles for the display of corporate social responsibility.The cultural approach 221Box 10.3 Civic responsibilities or cultural branding?Corporations and industries that are particularly subjected to criticism seemmost keen on demonstrating their corporate social responsibility. It might beiconic brands, corporations trading with Third World countries or corpora-tions in industries that pose environmental challenges.Starbucks release an annual CSR report available on their website. There,you can also read more about their support of African Wildlife Fund, Savethe Children, and MercyCorps. The overall aim is to add to a positive devel-opment in the coffee-growing areas in South America and Africa.As a major representative of an industry subjected to much criticismabout Third World exploitation; diamond company par excellence DeBeersexplains its social involvement in the Southern African countries. On itswebsite you can read about the South African & DeBeers Fund directingmoney from the DeBeers company profits into social investment in SouthAfrica. The company also runs an HIV/AIDS programme for theiremployees and their families.At petrol company BP’s website you can read about investments insustainable energy sources for the future and download an annual sustain-ability report.Source www.starbucks.com, www.debeerscompany.com, www.bp.com

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A future brand scenario: the citizen-artist brandNone of the other brand approaches holds opposing views in the same manner asthe cultural. The fact that the absolute champions of the branding process (thebrand icons) are also subjects to a ‘revolutionary’ agenda aiming at their downfallis, however, important to understand. But maybe the two views are not so oppositeas they first appear. Just like critical voices can comment on the impact of theiconic brands, management can benefit from an analysis of the tension betweenthe two sides of the spectrum in the cultural branding literature.One research article delivers an interesting take on the tensions betweenbrand icons and the anti-brand ‘No Logo’ movement (‘Why do brands causetrouble? A dialectical theory of consumer culture and branding’, Holt 2002). It isthe article that is mentioned as a key reading in the introduction to this approach.Holt’s analysis provides a new logic to the opposites as he analyzes ‘theemerging antibranding movement to understand tensions between the currentbranding paradigm and consumer culture to speculate on their future directions’(Holt 2002, p. 71).The brand icons are the champions of the postmodern branding paradigm (thebranding techniques that have proven efficient since the 1960s). The pressure andcriticism they are exposed to by the anti-brand movement should, according toHolt’s analysis, be seen as the beginning of a paradigm shift. The same thinghappened in the 1960s, when cultural changes implied a new marketing/brandingparadigm to emerge. The pressure on the champions of the postmodern brandingparadigms is hence nothing more than an indication that things are about tochange. Below is an illustration with a short description of the postmodernbranding paradigm and the post-postmodern paradigm of Holt’s (2002) analysis.Changes in consumer culture have led to changes in the marketing function, andbranding techniques have changed accordingly. The move from one dominantparadigm would another has been instigated by rebellion against the dominantmarketing techniques. In that sense ‘Consumers are revolutionary only insofar asthey assist entrepreneurial firms to tear down the old branding paradigm andcreate opportunities for companies that understand emerging new principles’(Holt 2002, p. 89).If a new branding agenda is about to emerge, it is relevant to look at the majordifferences between the existing and the new. ‘Authenticity’ is central to under-standing the proposed shift from the postmodern to the post-postmodern brandingparadigm. In the postmodern branding paradigm postmodern, ‘stealth’ branding(where the profit motive is disguised behind disinterested, ironic brand communi-cation) is perceived as being authentic. In the post-postmodern paradigm,openness about profit motives should be accompanied by an engaged citizenship.The authenticity problem of disguising profit motives behind a laid-back, ironicbrand attitude is what is being revealed by the anti-brand movement.In the post-postmodern branding paradigm the citizen-artist brands should befrank about profit motives, act as responsible citizens and be able to deliveroriginal and relevant cultural material:222 Seven brand approaches

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As consumers peel away the brand veneer, they are looking for companiesthat act like a local merchant, as a stalwart citizen of the community. Whatconsumers will want to touch, soon enough, is the way in which companiestreat people when they are not customers. Brands will be trusted to serve ascultural source materials when their sponsors have demonstrated that theyshoulder civic responsibilities as would a community pillar.(Holt 2002, p. 88)To reflect one final time on this somewhat different review of the theoreticalbuilding blocks of the approach: brand icons are brands capable of tellingpowerful myths commenting on the central cultural contradictions of the time. Thebasic understanding of consumption of goods as the consumption of culturalmeaning facilitates the understanding of the cultural brand perspective andthereby serves as a supporting theme. How the culturally savvy brands influencemainstream culture is fiercely resisted by the anti-branding agenda. Even though itis not a supporting theme, but rather a societal comment, it is important to under-stand some of the challenges facing the branding champions. Evoking thoughtsabout the future of brand management, the future scenario of the citizen-artistbrand is a central and managerially relevant comment on the societal resistance bythe No Logo movement. Even though it seems contradictory at a first glance, thecore elements of the cultural approach fit nicely together.SummaryCore to the cultural approach is the theory on how brands become icons. So-calledidentity brands (strong on self-expressive benefits) have the potential forbecoming brand icons by adapting to the cultural branding model. The culturalbranding model is closely related to McCracken’s classic theory about culturalTable 10.2 The postmodern and the post-postmodern branding paradigmPostmodern branding paradigm Post-postmodern branding paradigmTime frame 1960s and onwards Emerging (c. 2000)Consumer Seeking personal sovereignty Cultivating self through consumptionculture and identity construction of brandsthrough brandsMarketing In constant negotiation with Providers of original and relevantfunction consumer culture cultural materialBranding 1 Authentic cultural resources The brand as a cultural resource in itsparadigm 2 Ironic, reflexive brand persona own right + a community pillar +characteristics 3 Coattailing on cultural honest about profit motiveepicenters4 Life world emplacement5 Stealth brandingSource Adapted from Holt (2002).The cultural approach 223

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consumption. In this view of consumption, the consumption objects are seen ascultural artefacts carrying meaning from the culturally constituted world to theconsumers. Brands are regarded as cultural resources just like movies, socialmovements, books, magazines, etc. In this brand perspective, the tools forbuilding iconic brands are found. Through addressing the pressing cultural contra-dictions as a viable cultural ‘text’, and being able to reinvent as changes in societalcontradictions occur, the brand can approach the identity value of a cultural icon.The anti-brand movement is concerned with what branding and globalization doto culture. The encouragers of civil activism, they also raise important politicalquestions and push for corporate social responsibility. The tensions between brandicons and the anti-brand movement can be understood as a phenomenon indicatingthe beginning of a new branding paradigm. In this prospect of a post-postmodernbranding paradigm the brand should act as a citizen-artist, meaning being able todeliver relevant cultural material while shouldering its social and civic responsi-bilities. Having described the key theoretical building blocks of the culturalapproach, the next section provides an overview of the methods and data used inthe cultural approach.Methods and data of the cultural approachIn order to understand the production and circulation of cultural meaningcentral to the cultural approach, a certain approach to data collection isrequired. The cultural approach displays a variety of methods and data‘borrowed’ from different interpretive research traditions. What binds thestudies together is that all data are interpreted in a macro perspective.TheoryAssumptionsMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 10.6 Theoretical building blocks of the cultural approach224 Seven brand approaches

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Furthermore, the basics of semiotics are important to understand if one isconsidering gathering knowledge about cultural consumption.The practical methods suggested for applying the cultural branding model (howbrands become icons) will be reviewed in ‘Managerial implications’, as they areclosely intertwined with the managerial mindset of this strategic model.Research methods and dataUnderstanding the production and circulation of meaning fundamental to thecultural consumption perspective requires insight into semiotic methods. Whenconducting semiotic marketing studies one deconstructs the meaning displayed incommercial communication. Samples of commercial communications (e.g. brandlogos, television advertisements, print ads, package designs and shopping malls)are the objects of study and should be deconstructed accordingly. The objects aresupposed to be made strange and unfamiliar in order to go beyond the ‘taken forgranted’ meanings. Semiotic codes should then be decoded and the intertextualstrings of signs deconstructed.Intertextuality is an important aspect of semiotics. The commercial message (thebrand in this case) is regarded as a cultural ‘text’ like other cultural expressions.Intertextuality is the idea of texts referring to other texts. When, for instance, acosmetics brand signs a famous actress as their ‘face’, the brand becomes relatedto the movies the actress has starred in. These movies are linked with other cultural‘texts’, such as the book behind the script, other actors, and the famous directorwho once won an Oscar and so on and so on.These ‘strings of signs’ and ‘strings of text’ can be deconstructed individ-ually or in focus groups. It is important to understand that all ends are open-ended in semiotics; meaning that there are no right or wrong answers and thatthe deconstruction of a ‘text’ will depend entirely on the enculturation of theThe cultural approach 225Box 10.4 Doing semioticsQuestions to ask• What does X signify to me?• Why does X signify this to me?• What might X signify for others?• Why might X signify this for others?Sources of X• Objects, e.g. clothes, hairstyle, make-up, logos, graphic design.• Gesture, e.g. body types. faces, expressive gestures, postures.• Speech, e.g. accent or dialect, use of metaphor, tone or volume of speech,use of humour.Source Hackley (2003)

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respondent. Still, different interpretations add up to a more varied interpretationof the text.Other methodsOther methods are used to collect knowledge of the production and circulation ofcultural meaning. Cultural brand research displays a vide variety of datacollection. Ethnographic, phenomenological interviews and case methods are themost important ones.• Ethnographic studies are suitable for understanding the consumer in a culturalsetting. In general, the ethnographic research tradition is aimed at under-standing man in his cultural setting and is, as such, important if one iscollecting data on the cultural aspects of consumption. Conducting an ethno-graphic field study requires a high degree of immersion and no delimitationswhen it comes to data sources. Here, the researcher is supposed to participatein consumption practices and not delimit himself from any kind of datasource. Please refer to the methods section of chapter 9 for a more fulldescription of the ethnographic research tradition.• Phenomenological interviews are also viable methods in the culturalapproach. The approach is very much concerned with understanding thecollective identity projects of consumers. Phenomenological interviews areexcellent for the inquiry into individual identity projects, and through amacro-level analysis and interpretation the data from the individual inter-views can be applied to a cultural setting, shedding light on the collectiveidentity projects of consumers. Please refer to the methods section ofchapter 8 for guidelines on how to master the technique of the long,unstructured interview.• The ‘extended case method’ is a discovery-oriented method of anthropo-logical descent where a relatively small sample of informants is studiedclosely through loosely structured, long interviews and observations in theirhomes and environments. The cultural approach is focused on understandingthe most important cultural contradictions of the time. Investigating relevantconsumer groups by means of this method might provide great insight intothese contradictions. This is the research method behind the citizen-artistbrand prospect.The interpretation of the collected data is very important, because the focus ofanalysis is unique to the cultural approach. A ‘bottom-up’ interpretation of data isapplied; the informants are not expected to express idiosyncratic meanings, butrather to be acting as mouthpieces of the surrounding culture: ‘To study howconsumer culture operates, I examine the phenomena that it structures, people’severyday consumption practices. In methodological terms, I will use microleveldata – people’s stories about their consumption – to investigate macrolevelconstructs’ (Holt 2002, p. 73).226 Seven brand approaches

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SummaryThe cultural approach ‘borrows’ methods and data from other approaches toscience. Phenomenological interviews, ethnographic immersion, case methods andthe semiotic decoding of commercial and cultural manifestations are all legitimatePhenomenologicalinterviewsThe everyday,idiosyncraticconsumptionexperiencesbecome‘cultural’throughmacrolevelinterpretationMacrolevelinterpretationMicrolevel dataEthnographic immersionCase studiesPhotos and observationsDecoding of adsFigure 10.7 Research methods of the cultural approachBox 10. 5 Doing a cultural study yourself• Immerse yourself in the environment of research like a true ethnographer.• Conduct long phenomenological interviews.• Deconstruct the ‘strings of signs’ of commercial communication.• Test the enculturation of relevant cultural groups by having themdeconstruct the same commercial texts.• Sample cultural knowledge of the relevant cultural context.• Conduct extended case studies of individuals of specific interest.• Most important: feel free to pick the most suitable methods for yourresearch design.• … but be sure to submit all your micro-level data to a macro-levelinterpretation…• … as you bear in mind the golden rule of regarding your informants asmouthpieces of their cultural context!The cultural approach 227

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data in this approach when attempting to shed light on the cultural aspect of brandsand branding. What makes the methods and data stand out compared with their usein the other approaches is the macro-level interpretation they are subjected to. Theinformants are not assumed to speak entirely idiosyncratic beliefs and opinions, butrather they are considered representatives of the surrounding culture.Managerial implicationsThe managerial implications of the cultural approach can roughly be divided intotwo. A marketer can choose to implement the cultural branding model throughand through in the attempt to follow in the footsteps of the iconic brands. A brandmanager can also benefit from insight into this approach by becoming aware ofcultural criticism and using it as an add-on to the chosen branding strategy.Finally some thoughts on the managerial implications of the citizen-artist brand,which more or less is a merger between the two.The management of an iconic brandThe brand manager of an iconic brand – or an identity brand striving for iconic status– should get ready for a rather complicated work agenda. The brand is regarded as amedium for cultural expression and the path to icon status requires the ability tocreate radical cultural expressions. Supposed to act as a cultural activist quite farfrom the standard business school type, the brand manager is above all the composerof the brand’s myth: ‘As cultural activists, managers treat their brand as a medium –no different than a novel or a film – to deliver provocative creative materials that228 Seven brand approachesTheoryMethods and dataAssumptionsManagerial implicationsFigure 10.8 Methods and data of the cultural approach

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of traditional consumer research data. A different kind of consumer knowledge isrequired: ‘Rather than static, microscopic research that delivers a snapshot of indi-vidual consumers, genealogy is macroscopic and dialectical’ (Holt 2004, p. 214).The building of great myths requires an empathetic and deep (macro-level)understanding of the collective identity projects of the relevant consumer segment.The manager needs to deeply understand the cultural contradictions of the time andhow they feed the hopes and anxieties of, for example, a generation of Americanurban middle-class people: ‘Resonant myths spring from an understanding ofpeople’s ambitions at work, their dreams for their children, their fears of tech-nology, their difficulties in building friendships, and so on’(Holt 2004, p. 212).The brand manager also has to understand the reputation of the brand. In thecultural approach, the brand’s reputation is considered to be the reputation fortelling certain kind of stories – for competing in a certain myth market. This repu-tation endows the brand with a cultural and political authority, meaning that thebrand has a reputation for telling stories/performing myths about a certain notion(e.g. freedom, cultural authority) aimed at certain cultural segments (politicalauthority). In order for the brand manager to document the brand’s cultural andpolitical authority, he should look back in time to comprehend what historic activ-ities constrain or enhance the future mythmaking ability of the brand.Where one looks for the empathic understanding is also important. It cannot befound on the periphery of brand loyalists, it is the nucleus of brandinsiders/followers that can reveal the most significant ‘outlets’ of the culturalcontradictions. Full immersion – or preferably a ‘cultural membership’ – in therelevant populist worlds is therefore required.After having identified the most relevant cultural contradiction to target, the mythhas to be composed and executed in the right way. A traditional positioningstatement should be substituted by a ‘myth treatment’ (like in the film industry) inwhich the brand’s proposed cultural role is clarified. The execution of the brandcommunication should elevate itself from being a parasite on popular culturaltrends; it should rather develop a ‘populist authencity’ on its own terms.Furthermore, the brand should communicate by means of its own charismaticaesthetics. In sum, the brand communication should adopt its own independentvoice and play a proactive role in the culture of its time (eventually, re-refer to theSnapple case in box 10.2). The successful brand is the most skilful commentator andprovider of relevant cultural ‘text’addressing the socio-cultural tensions of the time.230 Seven brand approachesBox 10. 6 The versatile brand manager of the cultural approachBeing a brand manager/cultural activist requires a distinct talent for multi-tasking. Holt proposes that the abilities of the brand manager shouldencompass:• The mindset and work methods of a genealogist. A genealogist goesback in time in order to piece together a family tree. In much the same

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The culturally aware brand managerThe insights from the cultural approach can also be used in other ways. Culturalagendas aimed at your brand can be used as inspiration or warning signs of thebranding strategy losing its appeal. Therefore, Thompson et al. (2006) introduce theterm ‘Doppelgänger brand image’ as a theoretical term to describe the negativeautonomous brand images circulating in our culture. Where Holt views the tensionbetween brand icons and the global brand culture in the bigger picture (in the researchbehind the citizen-artist brand prospect), Thompson et al. view the tensions in a moreconcrete light, presenting the ‘doppelgänger brand construct’. The ‘doppelgängerbrand’ is a brand that has been subjected to ‘culture jamming’ and can provide hintsabout the need for a change of brand strategy. Therefore, any brand manager shouldbe very conscious of anti-brand activities and take them as warning signs of a brandstrategy losing its appeal.Adoppelgänger image should be seen as an early indicationregarding flaws and imperfections in a brand’s image and strategy;the analysis of a dobbelgänger image can (1) call attention to cultural contra-dictions that potentially undermine the perceived authenticity of a firm’semotional-branding strategy, (2) provide early signs that an emotional-branding story is beginning to lose its value as an authenticating narrative forfashion, the brand manager is supposed to go back in time in order tounderstand the brand heritage and the brand’s possibilities versusconstraints for performing certain kinds of myths• A cultural historian’s understanding of ideology. National shifts inideology are closely intertwined with cultural, political and economicchanges. The brand manager who is able to understand the ideologicalshifts and the cultural changes they cause is skilled at targeting the mostrelevant tensions in society• A sociologist’s charting of the topography of social contradictions.Social contradictions are inevitably linked with cultural, economic andpolitical changes. Developing an empathetic understanding of socialcontradictions enables the brand manager to perform powerful myths• The willingness and ability to take on a literary expedition into popularculture. Managing an iconic brand is all about developing a deepcultural understanding – and being able to deliver on it as a culturalactivist. Having one’s ear to the ground and understanding the culturalweb is therefore a prerequisite• The sensitivity and empathetic antennae of a writer. Just like a writer isoften able to observe life more than participate and still be the one whopinpoints the exact feelings of other people, the brand manager needs tohave a sixth sense of what goes on beneath the surface of people’s livesSource Holt (2004)The cultural approach 231

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consumers’ identity projects, and (3) offer insights into how an emotional-branding strategy can be reconfigured to fit better with changing cultural timesand shifting consumer outlooks.(Thompson et al. 2006, p. 51)The anti-brand No Logo movement and the pressure for corporate social responsi-bility (which is also an issue of non-activist consumers) are also relevant concernsof brand managers. The pressure for corporate social responsibility should not beignored by any brand.The citizen-artist brand managerAs explained in the section on theoretical building blocks, the seemingly contra-dictory clash between the brand icons and the anti-branding movement mightindicate a shift towards a new branding paradigm. The citizen-artist brand issupposed to accommodate the new requirements of an increasingly criticalconsumer culture by supplying the relevant cultural material (already skilfullydone by the iconic brands) and acting as a responsible citizen, shouldering itscorporate social responsibilities. The management of this future brand scenariorequires an even more versatile work agenda than the management of a brandicon; not only is the brand supposed to deliver potent cultural material but at thesame time lead the way towards new dimensions in corporate citizenship.232 Seven brand approachesBox 10.7 Just another legal case or an early warning sign?In 1999 San Francisco-based cartoonist Kieron Dwyer made comic books,t-shirts and stickers with his ‘Consumer Whore’ version of the Starbuckslogo and sold them in the anti-Starbucks milieu. The year after, Starbuckssued him for copyright and trademark infringement. Dwyer claimed that hiswork was meant as a parody and as such should be protected by the USconstitutional amendment of free speech. In 2000 the court decided thatDwyer was allowed to continue displaying his logo but only in extremelylimited circumstances.Sources www.illegal-art.org, www.wikipedia.orgBox 10.8 A citizen-artist brand?When reading the following case example of PRODUCT (RED), take intoconsideration the whole scope of the cultural approach. Consider thenature of the brand icon, the urge for corporate social responsibility and,not least, the citizen-artist brand prospect.

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In 2006 the (RED) initiative was founded by Bono, U2 and Bobby Shriver,CEO of Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa (DATA) and first introduced to theworld media at the World Economic Forum in Davos. (RED) is a newbusiness model and could be an indicator of a new brand agenda.The new fund-raising business model of the (RED) brand works like this.Iconic brands have the opportunity to license the (PRODUCT) RED markand use it for specific products co-branded by (RED) and the originalproduct brand. The corporations commit themselves to sending a fixedportion of the profits made on (RED) products directly to the Global Fund tofight AIDS in Africa (established in 2002 with the support of several worldleaders, among them then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan). The solepurpose of the Global Fund is to raise funds and make grants to countries,organizations and communities that need financial help to allow them torespond to epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.Iconic brands like American Express, Converse, Apple, EmporioArmani and Gap have licensed the right to create, market and sell speciallydesigned (RED) products. Apple has designed a (RED) iPod. The Gap has,among other things, designed an entire collection of red t-shirts imprintedwith words like INSPI(RED), EMPOWE(RED), WI(RED) andADMI(RED). A bodysuit collection from BabyGap spells out words likeDIAPE(RED) and ADO(RED). Gap has further committed to the cause byhaving more products made in Africa. If you use an American Express(RED) credit card, 1 per cent of your total spending is sent to the GlobalFund. (RED) Motorola phones are available, as is a whole collection ofclothing and fashion accessories by Emporio Armani. That is just to namea few of the initiatives.These corporations commit themselves to refunding a percentage of the(RED) turnover to the Global Fund. A main point is that the consumer doesnot pay extra for his or her (RED) purchase – the company does. Thelicensing fee received by (RED) for use of the (PRODUCT) RED mark isused to manage and market the (RED) brand. By early 2008 (RED)purchases had generated more than $100 million for the Global Fund.(RED) was created not only to raise money for, but also to createawareness of, the Global Fund and the severe issues it adresses. On 15 May(with Bono serving as guest editor) and 21 September (Giorgio Armani asguest editor) of 2006 the Independent went (RED). The newspaperpromoted the Global Fund and 50 per cent of the day’s revenue was donatedto the cause. Internationally well known personalities like Tony Blair,Nelson Mandela, Bill Gates, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Condoleezza Riceand George Clooney contributed to the (RED) editions of the newspaper.Anentire army of international celebrities have supported the (RED) cause bymodelling the clothes and backing the projects in all kinds of ways. Checkout the website below for new (RED) initiatives.The cultural approach 233

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SummaryMarketers can benefit from cultural branding insight in different ways. The brandmanager can engage fully in the cultural branding model in order to pursue thepath to icon status (or learn from the best). Going down this road, the brandmanager needs to adapt to an agenda of cultural activism and get ready for a ratherBox 10.9 Do’s and don’ts in the cultural approachDo Don’tAcknowledge the powerful forces Don’t believe that the brandin consumer culture communication happens justbetween you and your customerUse cultural feedback – also Don’t ignore critical voices: thingsnegative – to adjust your brand might spin out of controlstrategyBe open to inspiration from many Don’t focus too much ondifferent sources spreadsheets from business schoolguysAcknowledge that the brand Don’t believe that the brand ischanges over the course of time made up of consistent associationsRegard your brand’s reputation as Don’t ignore political, social anda reputation for performing myths ideological changesBe a cultural activist Don’t just react to the successes ofothersBe open about the profit motive Don’t use stealth branding to dodgeof your business the profit motive or civic obligationsBy combining the marketing power of the world’s leading consumerbrands with the accountability, scale and pace of Global Fund grant making,(PRODUCT) RED has created a new global brand and a new business model.Even though (RED) was created in order to raise awareness and money for thegood of African women and children affected by AIDS, it is important tonotice that (RED), in its own words, is not a charity. It is a commercialinitiative designed to create awareness and a sustainable flow of money fromthe private sector into the Global Fund to fight theAIDS pandemic inAfrica.Source www.joinred.com234 Seven brand approaches

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complicated work method. The brand manager needs to gain a deep insight intocultural issues in society and be able to use this insight to perform brand mythsconnecting to the most important cultural contradictions of the time.Insights from this approach can also be used to become aware of the importanceof monitoring if the brand is being subjected to criticism or even ‘culturejamming’. This can be an early warning sign of a branding strategy losing itsappeal or a pressure towards displaying more corporate social responsibility.The implications of the citizen-artist brand prospect should also be taken intoconsideration by brand managers.TheoryManagerialimplicationsAssumptionsMethods and dataFigure 10.10 Managerial implications of the cultural approachThe cultural approach 235Comments from the ‘founding fathers’(6)Cultural brandingDouglas B. Holt, Saïd Business School, Oxford UniversityI developed the cultural branding model to explain how brand symbolismworks. I’m also concerned with how brand symbolism influences otherdimensions of the brand such as perceived quality, distinctive benefits, andtrust (Holt 2002). Conventional theories of branding do a particularly poorjob of theorizing brand symbolism (Holt 2005). So I’ve spent the last decadeconducting research to address this gap.Conventional brand theories have yoked brand symbolism to the dominantpsychological models without considering its distinctive qualities. This is a

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major weakness because, outside of certain technology- and service-drivencategories, where brands are built largely through reputation effects,branding’s big stakes are decided increasingly by cultural symbolism.Branding has been dominated by these psychological assumptions fornearly four decades. In this view, which I call the mindshare model, thebrand is a set of valued associations in the individual consumer’s mind. Sobranding is reduced to being actions that systematically reinforce theseassociations. The American ad man Rosser Reeves developed the founda-tional intuition for this idea in the 1950s with his idea that each brandrequired a Unique Selling Proposition that should be repeated over and overto install it in consumers’minds.Al Ries and Jack Trout made this idea hege-monic with the publication of a series of Ad Age articles that culminated inthe 1980 publication of Positioning the Battle for your Mind. They intro-duced a powerful metaphor that won over the marketers worldwide: we livein a world that has far too many messages for people to process, so brandingis a battle for mental real estate. The firm needs to identify a cognitive gap inthe benefits and associations important to the product category and thenseek to own this mental real estate through ultra-simple ultra-consistentbrand communications. Beginning in the 1980s, consumer psychologistshave published scores of academic articles, textbooks and managementbooks that rely on this foundational intuition to advance a general theory ofbranding that paralleled what Reeves, Ries, and Trout had previouslydeveloped for practitioners. The goal of branding is to claim valuedcognitive associations in a product category, and consistently communicatethese associations in everything the brand does over time to sustain thebrand’s hold on this cognitive territory.The mindshare model works fine for certain aspects of branding, but it isfundamentally flawed as a theory of brand symbolism. Mindshare branding –as well as its various New Age cousins such as emotional branding, brandpersonality, brand archetypes, relationship branding – is but one model forbranding, as this book makes clear. The mindshare approach is a basic tool forthe day-to-day brand management of established brands – the incremental androte aspect of branding. When it comes to the most important, exciting andstrategically crucial role of branding – using branding to build extraordinarynew businesses and drive economic value – mindshare is a dead end.To address this gap, I developed a cultural theory of branding. Culturalbranding is conceived specifically to explain how branding works as aninnovation engine, to drive significant new domains of customer value. Todo so requires an entirely different theory of consumer motivations anddesires: moving from the essentialist, static, individual-level constructs ofmindshare theory to social and cultural constructs that are grounded inhistorical contexts. And the application of this new theory in practicedemands different research techniques and different conceptions of strategy.236 Seven brand approaches

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Cultural branding overviewTo build the cultural branding model, I conducted detailed cultural histories(i.e. brand genealogies) of many iconic brands, including Budweiser,Marlboro, Volkswagen, Mountain Dew, Nike, ESPN, Jack Daniels, Coca-cola, Corona, Snapple, and Patagonia. Most of these brands are American,but I have expanded the research since then to Europe, Japan, LatinAmerica, and also global brands.Brand symbolism delivers customer value by providing culturallyresonant stories and images that groups of consumers use to buttress theiridentities. The collective need for such stories arises in response to majorshifts in society. Cultural theorists term stories that provide this functionalrole a myth. The most important and valued brand stories respond to – andoften help to lead – major shifts in society and culture. My theory seeks toexplain why particular branded stories and images are so valued at particularhistorical junctures.Brands establish powerful durable symbolism (i.e. become iconic) whenthey perform powerful identity myths: simple fictions that address culturalanxieties from afar, from imaginary worlds rather than from worlds that theconsumer lives in. Identity myths are useful fictions that stitch back togetherotherwise damaging tears in the cultural fabric of the nation. These tears areexperienced by people in their everyday life as tensions or anxieties. Peopleuse myths to smooth over these collective tensions, helping them to createpurpose in their lives, to cement their desired identity in place when it isunder stress. Academic research has demonstrated that the extraordinaryappeal of the most successful cultural products has been due to their mythicqualities—from Horatio Alger’s rags-to-riches dime novels of the nine-teenth century to John Wayne westerns, to Harlequin romance novels, to theaction-adventure films of Willis, Schwarzenegger and Stallone. Iconicbrands work the same way.Brands become iconic when they address societal desires, not individualones. Iconic brands perform myths (through any customer touchpoint) thatsymbolically resolve the identity desires and anxieties stemming from animportant cultural tension. Iconic brands earn extraordinary value becausethey address the collective anxieties and desires of the nation (and sometimesbeyond). We experience our identities – our self-understandings and aspira-tions – as intensely personal quests. But, when scholars examine consumeridentities in the aggregate, they find that identity desires and anxieties arewidely shared across a broad swathe of a nation’s citizens. These similaritiesresult because, even though they may come from different walks of life,people construct their identities in response to the same historical changesthat impact the entire nation, and sometimes regions or the entire globe.Over time, as the brand performs its myth, consumers come to perceivethat the myth resides in the product. The brand becomes a symbol, a materialThe cultural approach 237

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embodiment of the myth. So as customers drink or drive or wear the productthey experience a bit of the myth. This is a modern secular example of therituals that anthropologists have documented in every human society. But,rather than religious myth, in modern societies the most powerful mythshave to do with identities. Customers use iconic brands as symbolic salves.Through the products in which they are embedded, customers grab hold ofthe myth and use it in their lives to make their identity burdens a bit lessburdensome. Great myths provide for their consumers little epiphanies—moments of recognition that put images and sounds and feelings on barelyperceptible desires. Customers who make use of the brand’s myth for theiridentities forge powerful emotional connections to the brand.To understand some of the basic features of cultural branding, it is usefulto contrast the cultural branding with the conventional mindshare model:From building associations to performing mythsThe mindshare model assumes that brand symbolism consists of abstractassociations in the consumer’s mind. Thus the purpose of advertising is toinfluence these associations. The communication content is treated asinstrumental rhetoric. Consumers are assumed to discard this rhetoricalmaterial and only absorb (or not, depending on the success of the ad) associ-ations to the brand.The cultural branding model turns this view of brand communications onits head. For iconic brands like Coke and Nike and Budweiser the brand’scommunications are the centre of customer value. Customers buy theproduct primarily to experience the stories that the brand performs. Theproduct is simply a conduit through which customers get to experience thestories that the brand tells. When consumers sip a Coke, or Corona, orSnapple, they are imbibing more than a beverage. Rather they are drinkingin identity myths that have become imbued in those drinks. The brand is astoried product: a product that has distinctive brand markers (trade mark,design, etc.) through which customers experience identity myths. Becausethe mindshare model ignores the particular contents of the brand’s commu-nications, the model is unable to decipher how brand symbolism works.From abstractions to cultural expressionsThe mindshare model proposes that the brand consists of a set of abstrac-tions. Descriptions of brands are full of abstract adjectives and nouns likesecurity and performance and quality and ruggedness. In cultural branding,in contrast, the brand’s value is located in the particulars of the brand’scultural expression: the particular cultural contents of the brand’s myth andthe particular expression of these contents in the communication. ForCorona the brand exists on the Mexican beach and the evocative expressionof the beach in its ‘nothing’s happening’ style of advertising. For Coke in238 Seven brand approaches

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‘Teach the world to sing’ the brand existed in the idea that in the hippiecounterculture could be found the seeds of peace and racial harmony. ForSnapple’s early 1990s breakthrough ‘100% natural’campaign the brand wascentred in loud-mouthed Wendy telling silly stories of Snapple drinkers, andin the barbed political soliloquies of Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh.Abstracting these cultural expressions to ‘relaxation’ and ‘friendship’ and‘quirky’, respectively, strips these brands of their most valuable assets.The mindshare model abstracts away the messiness of society and historyin search of the brand’s purified essence. This distilled model denies thebrand a role as an historical actor in society. In its insistence that brandsforge a transcendental identity lodged in consumers’ minds the mindsharemodel ignores that identity value is created and transformed in particularhistorical contexts. A theory of brand symbolism must detail the brand’sstakes in the transformation of culture and society and the particular culturalexpressions the brand uses to push for these transformations.From transcendental consistency to historical fitIn the mindshare model the brand’s associations transcend time and space.Therefore explanations of the evolution of brands boil down to whether ornot the brand maintains consistency in the face of organizational andcompetitive pressures that push for zigging and zagging. Brandmanagement is about stewardship: finding the brand’s true ‘identity’ andmaintaining this compass point come hell or high water.Yet the brands I have studied succeed by moving away from their initialbranding – their supposed DNA at the time – to address shifting currents inAmerican society. In fact, all of the iconic brands that I’ve studied, withhistories extending more than a decade, have had to make significant shiftsin order to remain iconic. Brands that haven’t adjusted properly – like Pepsi,Levi’s, and Cadillac – have lost much of the brand equity. These reinterpre-tations of the brand are necessary because, for a myth to generate identityvalue, it must directly engage the most acute cultural tensions of the day.Coke celebrated America’s triumphs against Nazi Germany in World War IIbut then suddenly shifted to dramatize ways to heal internal strife aroundwar in the early 1970s and then racial divisions in the early 1980s. Corona,originally a brand that represented collegiate hedonism, later was retooled toprovide a soothing antidote to the compression and anxieties of thenetworked free agent work that came to a head in the 1990s.Iconic brands are built using a philosophy the opposite of that espousedby the mindshare model. The brand is an historical entity whose desirabilitycomes from performing myths that address the most important socialtensions that pulse through the nation. For iconic brands, success dependsupon how well the brand’s myth is modified to fit historical exigencies, notby its consistency in the face of historical change.The cultural approach 239

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Student questions1 Describe the oppositional concerns of the cultural approach.2 Explain the difference between an identity brand and a brand icon.3 What is the consumer perspective in the cultural approach?4 What makes the application of methods to the cultural approach stand out?5 What does it tell you that the (RED) initiative was first presented at the WorldEconomic Forum in Davos?6 Describe the benefits (RED) obtain by collaborating with iconic brands.7 Describe the benefits the iconic supporting partners (Apple, Converse, etc.)obtained by joining (RED).8 How does (RED) tap into corporate social responsibility?9 What would be your arguments if you were to describe (RED) as a citizen-artist brand?References and further readingKey readings are in bold type.Alden, D. L., Steenkamp, J-B. E. M. and Batra, R. (1999) ‘Brand positioning throughadvertising in Asia, North America, and Europe: the role of global consumer culture’,Journal of Marketing, 63 (January): 75–87Allen, C. T., Fournier, S. and Miller, F. (2006) ‘Brands and their meaning makers’, in C. P.Haugtvedt, P. M. Herr and F. R. Kardes (eds) Handbook of Consumer Psychology,Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum AssociatesArnould, E. J. and Thompson, C. J. (2005) ‘Consumer culture theory (CCT): twenty yearsof research’, Journal of Consumer Research, 31 (March): 868–82Askegaard, S. (2006) ‘Brands as a global ideoscape’, in J. E. Schroeder and M. Salzer-Morling (eds), Brand Culture, London: RoutledgeFrank, T. (1997) The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and the Rise ofHip Consumerism, Chicago: University of Chicago PressGarsten, C. and Hasselström, A. (2004) ‘Homo mercans and the fashioning of markets’, inC. Garsten and M. L. de Montoya (eds), Market Matters: Exploring Cultural Processesin the Global Marketplace, New York: Palgrave MacmillanGay, P. du, Hall, S., Janes, L., Mackay, H. and Negus, K. (1997) Doing Cultural Studies: theStory of the Sony Walkman, London: Sage PublicationsHackley, C. (2003) Doing Research Projects in Marketing, Management and ConsumerResearch, London: RoutledgeMuch work remains to be done on cultural branding. To develop this area,the discipline of marketing must embrace theories and methods that it hasfor decades pushed to the margins, rather than continue to insist against allevidence that its favoured psychological assumptions are universally appli-cable to resolve all important branding questions.240 Seven brand approaches

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11 Taxonomy of brandmanagement 1985–2006After having guided you through the seven brand approaches, in this chapter weprovide an overview of the different perspectives on key subjects in brandmanagement reflected in the seven approaches to brand management. The taxonomy(figure 11.1) sums up the key learning points from the seven approach chapters. Thebackground of this book and taxonomy is a systematic analysis of 300+ brandmanagement research articles spanning the period of 1985–2006. The analysis hasbeen executed in accordance with the logic of the methodology The DynamicParadigm Funnel (Bjerre, Heding and Knudtzen 2008). The Dynamic ParadigmFunnel is based on theory about how science evolves: the philosophy of sciencedeveloped by Thomas Kuhn. The result of this extensive analysis – a new taxonomyof brand management consisting of seven different approaches – is according to thatanalysis what constitutes the academic discipline of brand management.Other writers have however also proposed categorizations of differentapproaches to brand management and this chapter will finish off with a look athow some of these alternative categorizations of brand management can becompared with the categorization and taxonomy proposed in this book.Taxonomy of brand management 1985–2006In figure 11.1, the most significant traits of each approach are presented side byside. By going through the characteristics of each approach, a clear overview ofthe seven brand approaches is gained. It is important to notice that each approachLearning objectivesThe purpose of this chapter is to:• Get introduced to the Kuhn-based taxonomy of brand management1985 – 2006• Get an overview of the seven brand approaches• Compare the proposed categorization of this book with other catego-rizations of brand management

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is presented as an ‘ideal type’. We emphasize the ideal type of each approachrather than eventual nuances and similarities, because it enables us to understandthe differences between the mindsets underlying each approach. For example,the perception of the brand–consumer exchange in the identity approach hasevolved over time from a perception of linear communication towards anassumed co-creation of brand value. In practice most of the approaches haveevolved and often embraced new developments and accommodating critique.The differences between the approaches in practice are hence more blurred thanthey are as presented in the framework of this book. The most important develop-ments and discussions are included in each approach chapter, but we havechopped a toe and squeezed a heel in order to provide our readers with as muchclarity as possible. In the following, we will go through the main categorizationsof the model.The time of origin (or academic conceptualization) of each brand approach ismore or less precise. Some of the approaches are born from a specific, ground-breaking article introducing a whole new brand perspective. These approaches canbe dated to a specific publication. Others emerge incrementally and from thehands of several researchers, they can only be dated approximately. The sevenapproaches are presented in a chronological order reflecting when the approacheswere conceptualized in the context of brand management. In the cases of the easy-to-date approaches, the ground-breaking articles are identified as key readings. Inthe other approaches, key readings are research articles central to and represen-tative of the approach; written by the most important and influential researchersconstituting the approach.Key words are the main concerns of the approach. The brand perspectivedescribes the overall ‘take’ on the brand in the given approach. We have focusednot only on clarifying the different brand perspectives, but also on the differentconsumer perspectives associated with the different brand perspectives.Each brand approach can be traced to a specific scientific tradition. The clarifi-cation of the respective traditions implies differences in consumer perceptions andmethods and also hints towards differences in philosophical standpoints. Theseaspects of the proposed taxonomy might seem difficult and over the top, but in ourexperience it actually facilitates the understanding of the discipline to add theassumed, ‘taken for granted’ stuff, as it guides the overall concerns of eachapproach: what is investigated; which methods are presumed valid; view of man(as consumer) and so on. When it comes to methods, the model makes it very clearthat the methods formally applied to brand management research have developedfrom a focus on quantitative methods to the use of a wide variety of methods, andthat they are primarily qualitative in the later approaches.At the heart of brand management is the ability to create brand value. Thearrows reflect the implied perception of the brand value creation in thebrand–consumer exchange. The managerial implications of each approach arecomplex, but we have tried to sum them up in seven different words. The mana-gerial key words evolve from reflecting control with the process of brand valuecreation to key words reflecting a perception of the brand manager having to248 Taxonomy

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acknowledge the influence of other forces on the brand value creation. In the theo-retical building blocks of each approach, we have presented core themes andsupporting themes. The supporting themes form the backdrop of the main theoryof the approach, and reflecting upon them should facilitate the understanding ofeach approach.The model also contributes with an overview of how it is assumed that brandmanagement can endow brands with value. The two first approaches (economicand identity) assumed that brand value is created in the domain of the marketer.This brand value creation shifted in the third approach (consumer-basedapproach), where it is a thorough understanding of the consumer that is presumedto be at the heart of superior brand value creation. In the personality approach andthe relational approach, the creation of brand value is presumed to be dialogue-based and takes place in dyadic exchange between the consumer and the marketer.The community approach adds the triadic brand–consumer relationship to theassumptions of what drives brand value creation: making the arrow point in threedifferent directions, because real brand value is assumed to be created not so muchin the interaction between marketer and consumer, as was the case in the previousapproaches, but in the interaction between consumers. In the last approach, theaddition of macro-level culture makes the assumed brand value creation verycomplicated, because the marketer is assumed to be dependent on macro andconsumer culture more than on the exchange with one or more consumers.Other categorizations of brand managementOther writers have also proposed different frameworks with the attempt to pindown the elusive nature of the brand by systemizing the field into different cate-gories. In this section, we will relate the categorization and taxonomy of this bookto other categorization frameworks of brand management and reflect upon therelevance of the framework categorization of this book in comparison with theother categorizations. The analysis underlying our proposed taxonomy stems froma Kuhnian mindset and reflects Kuhn’s philosophy of science and its theories onhow formalized knowledge in scientific disciplines evolves. The results of theanalysis and the taxonomy are hence tightly connected with the data of theapproach, namely research articles. In the review of each approach, other relevantliterature has been added to enable a full and accurate picture of each approach,but it is important to point out that the identification of the seven brand approachesis solely based on research articles. The other frameworks stem from otheranalyses with other backgrounds and use other denominators for categorizingbrand management. It is not our intent to add confusion by these comparisons; ouraim is rather to enhance clarity by pointing out the similarities between ours andother frameworks – even though they stem from different mindsets and analysesthere are significant similarities in the end result. We will review the study‘Divided by a common language: diversity and deception in the world of globalmarketing’ by Mary Goodyear (1996) that focuses on different brand roles indifferent markets; an identification of four brand management paradigms based onTaxonomy 249

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using two main discriminators on brand management literature BrandManagement Paradigms by Louro and Cunha (2001). The final categorization ofbrand approaches is How Brands Become Icons (2004) which is a comparison offour practical branding models.The role of brandsIn ‘Divided by a common language: diversity and deception in the world of globalmarketing’ Mary Goodyear (1996) investigates the marketing and brandingconfusion in terms of linguistics and asks the question: how can branding bedefined if one does not consider the many different roles of brands in differenteconomies, time eras and phases of market maturation? Considering these macro-level factors, Goodyear comes up with the definitions of the roles of brands shownin table 11.1. The model reflects the different roles played by brands as marketsevolve. In that sense, the Goodyear framework reflects the life cycle of a brand –how branding techniques become more sophisticated as consumers become moreand more accustomed to marketing techniques.This categorization pivots around the evolution of branding techniques (andhence, different brand roles) in the context of maturing market places. In a non-industrialized economy, the majority of goods are unbranded and the mere factthat goods are packaged may be a vehicle of consumer preferences. In low-consumerized and undersupplied countries, the primary role of the brand is toserve as a reference. The manufacturer need not apply sophisticated marketingtools to selling his goods. This brand role is more or less comparable to theeconomic approach.In a more mature market, the marketer is faced with more competition and,hence, has to apply other branding techniques in order to differentiate theproducts. This situation requires the ‘three-dimensional brands’ where productquality is supported by emotive advertising, where the brand’s most importantrole is to act as a personality. As the branding techniques relate to emotions andconnotations, this role is comparable to the individualistic brand approaches ofour taxonomy (the consumer-based approach, the personality approach and therelational approach).In an even more saturated market place, the consumer becomes the main driverin the branding process; the consumer ‘owns’the brand and plays an active part inendowing it with commonly held values, catapulting a few brands to iconic status(as found in the cultural approach of our taxonomy).In Goodyear’s categorization, she differs between classic branding and post-modern branding. The postmodern consumer lives in a highly literate consumerculture and is – through sophisticated brand literacy – able to see through theclassic roles of brands. The highly empowered postmodern consumer will demandresponsibility and identity from the corporation behind the brands; hence the twolatter roles of brands apply. The brand as organization is comparable to the identityapproach while the brand as policy is comparable to the CSR-related aspects of thecultural approach250 Taxonomy

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Four brand management paradigmsIn Brand Management Paradigms (Louro and Cunha 2001), four ruling brandingparadigms are identified by the use of two discriminators: the role of the consumerin the branding process (customer centrality) and whether the brand should hold atactical or strategic position in the company (brand centrality). These two dimen-sions provide four ‘ideal types’ of approaches to brand management.The product paradigm reflects an approach to branding where the brand is a lowstrategic priority and the customer is seen as a passive player in the branding process.Table 11.1 The roles of brandsMarketing era Role of brandsClassic branding Unbranded Commodities, packaged goodsMajor proportion of goods innonindustrialized contextMinor role Europe/United StatesSupplier has powerBrand as reference Brand name often name of makerName used for identificationAny advertising support focuses onrational attributesName over time becomes guarantee ofquality/consistencyBrand as personality Brand name may be ‘stand-alone’Marketing support focuses onemotional appealProduct benefitsAdvertising puts brand into contextBrand as icon Consumer now ‘owns’ brandBrand taps into higher-order values ofsocietyAdvertising assumes close relationshipUse of symbolic brand languageOften established internationallyPostmodern branding Brand as company Brands have complex identitiesConsumer assesses them allNeed to focus on corporate benefits todiverse ‘customers’Integrated communication strategyessential through-the-lineBrand as policy Company and brands aligned to socialand political issuesConsumers ‘vote’ on issues throughcompaniesConsumers now ‘own’ brands,companies and politicsSource Goodyear (1996), figs 2 (classic branding) and 5 (postmodern branding).Taxonomy 251

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If the brand strategy is perceived as central for the overall strategy of the organi-zation, but with the same conception of the customer, Louro and Cunha label it as aprojective paradigm. The third paradigm is characterized by the brand having a lowstrategic priority and a tactical focus supplemented by a conception of the customeras an active and primary co-creator of value, called the adaptive paradigm. Thefourth and last brand paradigm in the Louro and Cunha categorization of branding isthe relational paradigm. Here the brand is perceived to be key in relation to theoverall strategy and consumers are assumed to be active co-creators of the brand.The product paradigm reflects a product-centred approach to brand management.The product and its functional benefits are central to the profitability of the organi-zation in the product paradigm. The brand holds two primary functions: the statementof legal ownership, and as a communicative tool upholding visual identification ofdifferentiation in the marketing of the products of the company. In this brandmanagement paradigm, brand equity is seen as something created by having theoptimal marketing mix: the right price, right product, price, placement and promotion.The product paradigm is comparable to the economic approach of this book.ProductparadigmStrategic orientation(high)Tactical orientation(low)Brand centralityMultilateral(high)CustomercentralityUnilateral(low)AdaptiveparadigmProjectiveparadigmRelationalparadigmFigure 11.2 Two dimensions and four brand management paradigms; from Louro andCunha, ‘Brand management paradigms’, Journal of Marketing Management, 17 (2001),p. 855, reproduced by permission of Westburn Publishers Ltd252 Taxonomy

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The projective paradigm of the Louro and Cunha categorization resembles theidentity approach in our framework. It focuses on the usefulness of the brand on astrategic level as opposed to the tactical approach to branding reflected in theproduct paradigm. The brand is seen as a strategic entity that should be used as atemplate for the overall business model. Thus, the brand reflects purpose, ethics aswell as core competences in an organization and vice versa. The theoretical back-ground of the projective paradigm is the resource-based perspective. The conse-quence of this is that value and brand meaning are found internally. In thisparadigm, competitiveness of the business is based on the organization’s ability tofind its own internal strengths and cultivate them with the purpose of creating aunique business culture and unique competences difficult to imitate. This idea ofcreating unique concepts based on sender identity is the foundation of theprojective paradigm in brand management.Where the projective paradigm stresses the internal business resources and compe-tences as the source of brand meaning, the adaptive paradigm stresses the consumeras the source of brand meaning: ‘The power of the brand resides in the minds of theconsumer’ (Keller 2003, p. 59). The adaptive brand management paradigm therebyresembles the consumer-based approach in the taxonomy of this book.The relational brand management paradigm in the Louro and Cunha frameworkis the opposite of both the lack of review of the actions of the customers in theprojective paradigm and the ‘excessive’focus on the active customer in the adaptiveparadigm. The relational paradigm conceptualizes brand management as a dynamic,dyadic process, in which an interaction between the creation of brand value (inter-nally) and brand meaning (externally) on a strategic level results in a strong andrelevant brand equity through an experienced meaningful relation betweenconsumer and brand. In this paradigm, the marketer can benefit from constructingthe brand as a personality because it furthers the consumer–brand relationship. Thisis done by implementing the acknowledgement of the consumer’s active contri-bution to the creation of brand meaning and at the same time making brandmanagement and brand identity the kernel of the formulation of strategy and theexternal business communication. In that way, both customer and brand centralityare high-ranking priorities in this paradigm. It goes without saying that this brandmanagement paradigm covers the personality and the relational approach.The categorization by Louro and Cunha is created through the use of otherdiscriminators and using an entirely different way of sorting existing brandmodels, but the proposed brand management paradigms are indeed comparableto the taxonomy of this book. As described above, the first five approaches arecovered by the four brand management paradigms, and the latter two emergedaround and after the publication of Brand Management Paradigms in 2001.Four branding modelsIn How Brands Become Icons (2004), Holt proposes four different brandingmodels; cultural branding, mind-share branding, emotional branding and viralbranding. Holt does not embed the four branding models in a chronologicalTaxonomy 253

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context, but focuses on presenting and comparing the most widely used (inpractice) branding models. Holt labels the mind-share branding model thedominant branding model since the 1970s. In the 1990s emotional brandingbecame a managerial priority as well, and with the rise of the internet viralbranding techniques also became applied to branding practices. The culturalbranding model is based on Holt’s research into how brands become icons (pleaserefer to chapter 10).It is obvious that the cultural branding model is the equivalent of the culturalapproach of our taxonomy; the mind-share branding model is comparable to theconsumer-based approach; the emotional branding model sums up the personalityand the relational approach; while the viral branding model resembles thecommunity approach.OverviewA new taxonomy of brand management is proposed in this book. It is based on anexhaustive analysis of the most influential research in brand managementcovering the last twenty-one years; it hence offers a research-based categorizationof brand management. A comparison with other categorizations of brandmanagement indicates that, despite different starting points, the frameworks andespecially the results of the categorizations are comparable in many ways.256 TaxonomyTable 11.4 Comparison of brand management categorizationsCategorization This taxonomy Goodyear Louro and Holt (2004)(1996) Cunha (2001)Discriminators A Kuhnian Macro-level Customer Widely usedanalysis of analysis of centrality and branding modelsresearch papers market strategic priority (in literature andevolution (in literature) practice)Comparable The economic Brands as The productbrand categories approach reference paradigmComparable The identity Brand as The projectivebrand categories approach company paradigmComparable The consumer- Brand as The adaptive Mind-sharebrand categories based approach personality paradigm brandingComparable The personality Brand as The relational Emotionalbrand categories approach personality paradigm brandingComparable The relational Brand as The relational Emotionalbrand categories approach personality paradigm brandingComparable The community Viral brandingbrand categories approachComparable The cultural Brand as icon + Culturalbrand categories approach brand as policy branding

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It is interesting to compare our analysis with the Goodyear categorization,because the starting point of the two frameworks is so different. Goodyear’sanalysis provides insight into how brands play different roles as a market evolvesand its consumers become more sophisticated, which is quite different from theKuhnian approach used in this book. The proposed brand roles are, however,highly comparable to the evolution of brand management as a scientific discipline.Hence, the macro-level analysis of evolving market places is comparable to theanalysis of how the academic discipline has evolved (even though the proposedevolution of brand roles does not fit the chronology of the taxonomy).In Louro and Cunha’s framework, the most influential brand management liter-ature is categorized by two discriminators (brand centrality and customercentrality). The four brand management paradigms identified in that frameworkmore or less cover five approaches of our taxonomy.Holt compares axioms of the four most popular branding models. The side-by-side presentation of these models is very much comparable to the five latestapproaches of the taxonomy in this book.Concluding remarksThe proposed taxonomy of the seven approaches hence complements existingframeworks or categorizations of brand management even though it stems from adifferent background. The taxonomy provides much detail to enhance under-standing of brand management, both when it comes to width and when it comes todepth. The fact that the taxonomy proposes seven approaches to brandmanagement provides a very detailed insight into the subject. Furthermore, theTaxonomy 257TheoryAssumptionsMethods and dataManagerial implicationsFigure 11.3 The logic of the approach chapters

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chosen background of research articles and Kuhnian philosophy of science hasprovided the taxonomy with a detailed and logical structure based on the intercon-nectedness between assumptions, theories, methods and data and managerialimplications. This structure provides the reader with a thorough and deep under-standing of brand management as an academic discipline, and it is our hope that itis a step in the direction of understanding the elusive nature of the brand better.References and further readingBjerre, M., Heding, T. and Knudtzen, C. (2008), ‘Using the dynamic paradigm funnel toanalyse brand management’, in K. Tollin and A. Caru (eds) Strategic Market Creation: ANew Perspective on Marketing and Innovation Management, Chichester: WileyGoodyear, M. (1996), ‘Divided by a common language: diversity and deception in theworld of global marketing’, Journal of the Market Research Society, 38 (2): 105–23Holt, D. B. (2004), How Brands Become Icons: the Principles of Cultural Branding,Boston MA: Harvard Business School PressLouro, M. J. and Cunha, P. V. (2001), ‘Brand management paradigms’, Journal ofMarketing Management, 17: 849–75258 Taxonomy

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Notes1 These diverse academic backgrounds of the scholars investigating brand identity oftenlead to opposing views and endless discussions of how to combine elements and what tocall these elements. For the sake of clarity, this book defines the internal elements ofbrand identity: corporate identity as the visual and strategic aspects of brand identityand organizational identity as the behavioural and structural aspects of brand identity.2 In the literature behind the consumer-based approach there is quite a lot of theory aboutbrand extension. If you want to know more about the thoughts on brand extensions inthe consumer-based approach, good places to turn are Keller (1993) and Aaker andKeller (1990).3 Be aware that the exchange between the consumer and the social and cultural context isnot a one-way exchange but dyadic. The more dyadic perspective on this process is elab-orated in chapters 9 and 10.4 The theory was first published as a Ph.D. dissertation in 1994.5 Examples of how life themes, life projects, and current concerns are pivotal points in thebrand relationship theory are to be found in figure 8.4.6 Not to be confused with brands managed according to the cultural approach, which isapplying cultural principles to the management of brands from all industries.7 Holt’s term, not to be confused with the identity approach of this book.